Bloodrose
by TaraCullen1
Summary: This is when Adne and Call go on a secret mission, bringing Ren back with them. I used Bloodrose title because i couldn't come up with another title. I do not own any of the characters they all belong to Andrea Cremer
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own the nightshade series. Everything belongs to Andrea Cremer.**

**Let me know what you guys think, reviews would be nice, thanks.**

Chapter 1

Adne and I started walking to where I thought Ren would be. It was weird because I was feeling anxious about seeing him. What do you expect? I mean, the last time I saw him he did try to kill me.

I know it was wrong of tome to have feelings like this, especially after what happened with Shay last night. I knew that Ren would never hurt me—if this was a normal circumstance, but as you can tell, this is by no means a normal circumstance. "Calla," I heard Adne ask, as she gripped my arm gently. "Are you okay?" I hadn't realized that I was breathing rather rapidly.

"Yeah," I told her. "I'll be fine." Silently, I prayed that I was wrong and that Ren wasn't behind that door so that we could get out of here and go home. I can't believe I let Adne talk me into going with her. How stupid could I be? Pretty, obviously—seeing as I was here now.

Home? The academy definitely was not my home. But then why did I just call it that? I had no idea.

We had been walking for a bit when I stopped suddenly, causing Adne to stumble into me. "Oomph." I whispered, as I fought to keep my balance.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Adne apologized, helping to steady me so that I wouldn't topple over. "You just stopped without warning. I didn't hurt you, did I?" she asked, sweetly. "Why did you stop, anyway?" she asked, glancing around the hallway.

My breath caught in my throat. Ren was behind the closed door that was right in front of us. I could feel him and smell him. That was one of the perks of being a guardian. "No, I'm not hurt. Ren is in there." I nodded at the door, so Adne could see where I was talking about.

"Are you sure?" How can you tell?" she whispered, taking a step closer.

My natural instincts took over and I pulled her back, perhaps just a little too harshly. "I can smell him, and feel his presence."

"Calla, if he's in there, I have to go in. He's my brother!" she exclaimed, trying to get past me.

Yeah, Ren may very well have been her brother, but he didn't know that. To Ren, Adne was just a searcher, and I'm sure that he would hurt her if he could. "We have to take things slow. He doesn't know that you're his sister. I have to explain it to him. You're going to have to wait out here until I call you."

I could see the anger flash in Adne's eyes, as I told her that. "That's just not fair, Calla." She complained, widening her eyes even further if possible. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to take Ren all for yourself. You're so selfish, Calla!"

Selfish? I was in no way being selfish. I was trying to be cautious. Did she really want Ren to jump on her as soon as we walked into the room? I think not! I can't believe she would even suggest such a thing! It was the meanest thing I had ever heard. "Listen to yourself, Adne? Do you know how stupid you're sounding?"

Tears threatened to spew out of Adne's eyes. "Yeah, I guess I'm just stupid now." She seethed, stalking off in the other direction.

"Adne, wait!" I tried calling after her. "You know that's not what I meant at all! You're blowing this all out of proportion! Come back here!" I demanded.

"Why? So I can watch you have a make out session with my brother? I think not. Does Shay even know about Ren?" she asked. "After what you guys did last night, how can you even think about betraying him?"

Betraying him? That was a rather harsh word. I would never ever think about betraying Shay. I loved Shay more than anything in the world! More than Ren? A voice deep inside me asked. I shoved that thought away, for now. "I'm not betraying Shay!" I told Adne. "And yes, Shay knows of my feelings for Ren, but it's not what you think." I argued.

"I know exactly what it is." She fought back, as she turned around.

"Where are you going?" I asked, worried that she'd leave me here and shut the portal, making it so that I couldn't get back home. Home? There I was calling it home again.

"Back to the portal." She told me, not even bothering to look back at me.

"Wait, you can't leave me." I called out.

Adne whipped her head around to look at me. "Just get my brother and get your ass back to the portal as quickly as you can."

Ass? Well, that wasn't like Adne at all. I don't think I had ever heard her swear. "Fine." I told her, turning back to face the door. So much for having her help me in convincing Ren that he should come back with us.

My breath shook, as I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself down. It was surprising that Ren hadn't come out of the room wondering what on earth all the commotion could have been about. We couldn't have been all that quiet. He had to sense that I here.

My hands shook slightly, as I turned the doorknob and pushed open the door. It was a bedroom, very beautiful. It had large king-sized canopy bed, with the canopy draping over it. On the other side of the room, there were two large mahogany dressers with a mirror attached to one.

My eyes began to water, as I realized what this room was. It was the room Ren and I were to share after the union—after we had been married. Oh, Ren! I sighed to myself, as old feelings began bubbling to the surface.

Taking a step into the room, I searched for Ren, but didn't spot him anywhere; which was weird, seeing as I could sense him in the room. He had to be here somewhere.

I walked towards the large Mahogany dresser and ran my finger across the smooth wood. In my mind, I was secretly thinking about how I would have decorated the room. I decided I liked flowers; it would have many—though no callalilly's. Well, maybe I would have one, just because Ren like to call me Lilly.

Stop it, Calla! I scolded myself for thinking like that. You made your decision. I thought bitterly. You left Ren so that Shay could get away. You're with Shay now, so stop thinking about this!

I continued to walk around the "master" bedroom looking for Ren, and spotted something out of the corner of my eye.

Slowly, I turned to face what I had just seen. It was Ren. He was crammed in between the bed and the wall, on the far side of the room. Please don't be dead. I prayed, as I rushed towards the crumpled body. No matter how I felt for Shay, I just couldn't picture Ren dead. I shuttered at the thought.

I reached Ren in two strides and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close to me, letting his unique smell sift through my nostrils. I breathed deeply, wanting to savor his scent forever.

"Ren." I whispered, softly. "Ren answer me this very moment!" I demanded

Just as I said that, Ren's eyes fluttered open. Thank God he wasn't dead. I thought, as Ren spread his lips in a wide smile, flashing his razor sharp, canine teeth.

Startled at his sudden movement, I jumped back. "Ren, wait." I begged, as he crouched down, getting in position to pounce on me. "It's me, Calla."

"I know who you are, Lilly." He said, using the much loathed nickname.

"Good, then you can see that I'm not here to hurt you."

"That doesn't matter." He told me, baring his fangs at me. "I'm supposed to kill you. That is my mission."

No matter how many times I heard Ren say that, it was still a shock. I didn't ever think that he would be capable of such a thing. "Ren, please." I begged, hoping that he would come to his senses. "You know that you don't want to do this. I thought you loved me."

Ren shook his head. "Love doesn't matter. It won't change anything. Orders are orders." He spat, avoiding my gaze.

"Even if I told you that I loved you?" I asked.

Ren paused for a brief moment, as if to consider what I had just aid, and then shook his head. "If only that were true, Lilly. It gets old hearing that over and over again. After awhile you kind of have to just give up and let it go."

He crouched down and pounced on me, even before I knew what he was doing. His strength knocked me onto the ground, slamming my head hard on the floor.

"Don't even think about shifting forms." Ren snarled at me.

Dang it, as a matter of fact, I was just about to try and shift forms. There goes that option. I fought much better in wolf form.

"Is this going to become a habit?" I asked, trying to shove Ren off of me. "You, trying to kill me?"

Ren let out a laugh. "It won't have to be a habit if you just let me kill you, right now." He sneered.

Let him kill me? Ha! Did he really think that I was that stupid? I think not. I was going to fight him with all the strength that I possessed. He was not going to kill me!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Before I knew what was happening, Ren jumped off me, pulling me up to a standing position. Could it be, that I had gotten through to him, and that he decided to change his mind? No, it couldn't have been that easy. Ren would need more than that to convince him that he shouldn't kill me.

Ren pulled me close to him, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. He brought his mouth close to mine and opened it. I prayed that he was going to kiss me, as bad as that sounds, and forget about all this nonsense.

"Game. Over." He breathed annunciating each word, as he flung me across the room, my head crashing into the wall. Little stars were popping into my vision, but I knew that I couldn't quit. If only I could change forms, I'd be so much better and have more of a fighting chance.

He waltzed back over to me and flung me over his shoulder, only to throw me onto the beautiful mahogany dresser—smashing it into pieces.

Owe, that hurt! I wouldn't be surprised, if I had splinters after that. "Ren, please. I'm begging you to stop."

"And what will you give me in return, if I do decide to stop?" He asked, throwing me into the other dresser.

"I can give you your freedom." I told him, struggling to catch my breath and to keep conscious. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. If only Adne would come back and help.

"That, my dear Callalilly, is not yours to give." He seared, as he picked me up and held me over his shoulder, getting ready to throw me again.

"But it could be." I whispered. "Please, Ren." I begged. I couldn't handle being thrown into anything else.

"Let her go." I heard a voice calling from somewhere close by.

"My my my, who is this beauty?" Ren hissed, as he slammed me against the wall, causing me to black out for a brief moment.

"Calla!" the voice cried, as she rushed towards me.

"And what would a searcher want with Lilly?" Ren asked, shoving Adne back.

"She's my friend." Adne spat in his face.

Friend? After what she said earlier, I assumed that she hated my guts. Guess she changed her mind; hopefully she did change her mind, because I couldn't stand the thought of Adne hating me—even if she was sweet on Shay.

"A searcher and a guardian, friends with each other? This is not possible." Ren mused, taking a step closer to Adne, forcing her to retreat out into the hall. Ren slammed the door in Adne's face and turned to face me.

Now I was angry. Nobody had the right to speak to Adne that way, especially when it was Adne's brother. "Nobody talks to Adne like that." I fumed, jumping in the air while shifting forms.

"I thought I told you not to change forms?" Ren hissed, as I lunged at him. I hadn't realized that Adne had opened the door again and was watching me attacking her brother.

"Calla, no!" she shouted, as I pounced on Ren, forcing him to the ground.

My head snapped up, as she said that. "Calla, remember why we are here? You can't kill him, please." She begged.

"And why should my life be important to you, searcher?" Ren inquired, tilting his head back so that he could get a better look at her.

"My. Name. Is. Adne. And because—" I barked at her, willing her to stop talking. Who knew how Ren would react to hearing that a searcher was his sister.

"Calla, he's going to find out sooner or later, we might as well tell him."

I was hoping that I would be me who would tell Ren that Adne was his sister, and I was hoping it would be within better circumstances.

"Tell me what?" Ren asked, struggling to push me off him.

"You're my brother, Ren." Adne whispered, lowering her eyes.

Ren let out a laugh that sounded more like a bark. "You, my sister? I'm an only child. Stop making up stories or I will have to kill Calla here." He said, somehow managing to shove me off and get to a standing position away from me.

"You will not harm Call any more than you already have." Adne told him bravely.

"Are you giving me, an alpha, an order? Oh that was stupid." He snarled, pulling out a crossbow which I somehow didn't realize that he had.

He aimed the crossbow at me, releasing the bow in my direction. "Calla!" Adne called, as the arrow pierced my shoulder.

I stumbled; unable to walk any further, and managed to change back to my human form, collapsing to the ground.

Somehow, I couldn't believe that Ren would actually shoot me. Guess I was wrong. "Calla!" Adne sobbed, rushing to my side, wrapping her hands around the arrow as if she was going to try and pull it out right there.

"No, don't!" I gasped. "I'll bleed out."

My head turned to face Ren, who appeared to be in shock, like he couldn't be that he actually shot me, I couldn't either. "Calla." He whispered, as he ran out of the room.

That was strange. I thought, as a wave of pain coursed through my body, making me wince. "Calla," Adne cried. "I have to get you back to the portal."

I shook my head. I wasn't willing to leave without Ren. She would have to knock me out if she wanted to bring me back. "But Ren." I choked.

"Forget about him. It was stupid of me to think that we could do this alone. I'm so sorry, Calla."

No! I wasn't going to leave him here! I needed him with me. He was a part of me, like Shay was also a part of me.

Ignoring the pain in my right side, I struggled to stand up. "Calla! Don't you dare. I'm taking you back to the portal, now! We'll come back another time, bring a couple of more people with us.

She didn't understand. I loved Ren; I just didn't realize how much I loved him, until now. My heart ached for him—I needed to be with him.

"You didn't close the portal when you left?" I asked. "That was stupid, Adne. What if, more wraiths were to sneak in?"

Adne closed her eyes and bowed her head, almost looking like she was praying. "It was a risk I had to take. I heard you screaming, he was killing you, Calla. I couldn't let that happen."

Confusion swept over me. "But I thought you hated me. Sure sounded like you did." I told her, as the pain became too much to bear, forcing me to collapse to the floor.

"Calla," Adne whispered words barely audible. "I was mad, but I could never hate you. I think of you like my sister. Come on." She said, wrapping her arms around me. "Let's get you home." She said, lifting me in her arms as if I was light as a feather; though I knew I wasn't.

Home…that sounded like a wonderful thing. I thought, as we walked back to the portal, praying all the while that everything would be normal when we got back.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Adne was struggling to carry me that much I could tell, but she never once complained. All seemed well when Adne stepped through the portal.

"What's going on?" A voice called, as Adne shifted me slightly in her arms. I knew I recognized the voice, but I couldn't place a finger on as to who the voice belonged to. I was too tired to open my eyes. It just seemed like too much work. "What's wrong with Calla?" the voice asked. I could tell he was beside me now. "She's been shot?" he asked, noticing the blood and arrow. "What the? Adne, you better tell me where the hell you just were! And let me hold her." He demanded.

My body was passed between arms and the new person now cradled me close to his chest. "Calla," He whispered into me ear. "Calla, open your eyes." He ordered.

"I'm sorry, Shay. I wasn't thinking, and I didn't know that he would shoot her." Adne was on the verge of hysterics, I could tell.

"Where the hell were you? I've been worried sick! We didn't know where you two had gone."

"I'm sorry about that, but it wasn't Calla's fault. I…I made her go with me. I had to try and reason with him, had to try to bring him back."

"Adne, I swear that if you don't tell me, I will hurt you."

"Hurt her, and you'll wish you were never born, scion!" A new voice piped in.

"Connor!" Adne sobbed, as she rushed into his arms. "Tell Shay that I didn't mean for Calla to get shot."

"Shot? What are you talking about?" Connor asked, walking towards me.

"I took her back to Vail with me." She sobbed.

Shay let out a shaky breath and I realized that I was falling to the ground. "You took her to Vail?" Shay asked, as he knelt beside me, cradling me in his arms. "That was a very stupid thing to do, especially after the attack that just happened. What were you possibly thinking?" He demanded, rubbing my face with his hand, in such a sweet loving motion.

"I know, it was stupid of me. I'm sorry, but I had to talk to Ren. My father gave me a letter before he died, explaining everything."

"Letter, what letter?" Shay inquired.

"Adne, don't." Connor begged.

"It's okay Connor." Adne laughed weakly. "He needs to know."

"Needs to know what? What the hell is going on?" He shouted, standing up—forgetting about me for the time being; which was really starting to annoy me, seeing as I was the one with the arrow lodged into my side.

"Ren is my brother, Shay." Adne said, boldly.

"Your brother?" Shay asked, choking back a laugh.

"It's not funny, Shay! I'm serious. I went back to tell him and brought Calla with me for reinforcement, so that she could help reason. Things turned badly. Calla and I got in an argument and I stormed off, not realizing that Ren was still so set on killing her. And if I had known that you were going to act this way, I wouldn't have told you any of this!" shouted Adne.

"Awe, Adne. I'm sorry. I just couldn't help myself." Shay apologized.

"You might want to check her for concussions." Adne added.

"What's going on in here?" Another voice sounded—it was female. "Why is Calla lying on the floor, Shay? Is that, blood?" She shouted, rushing towards me.

"Bryn, just hang on a sec." Shay told her.

"She has an arrow lodged into her side and blood oozing onto the floor and you want me to hang on for a sec?" Bryn shrieked, shaking me so that I would open my eyes.

Connor stood over by the door way, with his hands covering his ears, shaking his head. "Loud, much?" He asked. "I think you burst an eardrum." He joked.

Bryn obviously didn't find that funny. She gave Connor her famous stink-eye. You knew when to back off whenever she gave it.

"Oh Connor, now you've done it." Shay told him.

"Done what?" he asked, looking back and forth between Bryn and Shay questioningly.

"You don't know about Bryn's stink-eye, do you?" he asked, hiding a laugh.

"No, what's a stink-eye?" Connor asked.

"You'll find out." Shay laughed.

"Enough!" Bryn growled. "Will you two stop talking about me like I'm not even here?" She exclaimed. "Calla, please don't be dead." She begged, turning her attention back to me—about time too. "She needs packblood, Shay. And we have to get that arrow out, now! She's not looking so good."

"You don't think I don't know that?" Shay snapped. "I was going to get to that in a second, but Adne was telling me what happened."

"Yeah, what did happen?" Bryn asked, turning her attention to Adne. "We've been looking for her everywhere."

Adne closed her eyes. "Ren is what happened. He tried to kill her. Why does everyone want to know where she was?" Her eyes snapped open. "She's not in trouble, is she?" She had a guilty look in her eyes.

"No, she is not, but you my dear are." A woman called, making everyone's head turn to see who it was. "That was a very foolish thing to do, sneaking off like that, especially in the state of things!"

"Lydia!" Adne said, slowly backing away, shrinking into Connor, who squeezed her shoulders comfortingly.

Bryn's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? Ren isn't even here?" She seethed, not even realizing that someone else just walked into the room.

Adne sighed. I knew that she wasn't keen on having to explain everything again. But how else was she going to explain my injuries? "I took her to Vail." She said again.

"Vail?" Lydia asked. "Why didn't you come to me, first?" She scolded.

Adne cowered into Connor. "Because, you would have said no. I had to do this. I had to try and bring him back." She sobbed as Connor spoke comforting words, trying to sooth her.

"But why dear?" Lydia asked, bringing her tone down so it wasn't as menacing.

"Because, Ren is my brother." She whispered, pulling out a crumpled letter from her pocket. "Here is the letter that explains it all." She said, handing it with shaky hands to Lydia, who eagerly took it.

"Adne, don't." Connor cut in. "That's private. That letter is between you and your father. He wouldn't want you showing it to the whole world."

She let out a gentle laugh. "It's okay, Connor, I promise." She said, patting him playfully on the cheek. "Go ahead, Lydia. Read it out loud so everyone can hear."

"Are you sure, dear?" Lydia asked.

"Yes," Adne nodded, with a sad look in her eyes.

"Alright, then." Lydia replied as she unfolded the letter. "My darling Bryn." She started. "If you are reading this letter, then you will know by now that something has gone terribly wrong. I'm sorry for that. I did not wish for you to grow up without a father or a mother. However, you are not alone, dear one. There is yet another family member. I'm sure by now that you have heard of the name Renier Laroche? He is a guardian, in case you didn't already know that. Before I met your mother, I had an illegitimate child with another woman. I know I know, shocking right? Please don't think bad of me, or Renier, it wasn't his fault. So, I'm pretty sure that you have guessed, by reading this that Renier Laroche is your brother. It is your responsibility now to convince Renier that he needs to come back here with you. Please do not fail me; I am counting on you to do this, sweet Adne. Oh, one more thing. Please don't be too hard on Connor now that I am no longer here. He is only trying to protect you, but I think that boy is in love with you. I think you should give him a chance. He's really a nice guy, once you get to know him. I hope that I have explained myself clearly and that you know what you are to do. I love you my darling, angel. Promise me that you will never forget me and I will be watching over you, up in heaven. Love always, Dad. Aka, Monroe, as you prefer to call me."

Lydia looked up from the letter and to Adne, whose cheeks were now painted red out of embarrassment. "So you see," Adne whispered. "That is why I have to bring him back." She cried. "I can't let my father down."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

My eyes fluttered open, and I saw Shay rush to my side. Bryn was already there, cradling me in her arms. "Oh, thank God, Calla!" She exclaimed, as she pulled me in a tight squeeze, making me wince.

"Don't jostle her about." Shay warned. "You'll squeeze her to death."

"Not funny, Shay!" Bryn glared, shoving him out of the way.

"Children please!" Lydia said, as she glided towards me.

"Child?" Bryn called. "You did not just call me a child! I am by no means a child." Bryn trembled, her wolf form hanging over her.

"Bryn, calm down!" Shay ordered. "She didn't mean it."

"Actually I did." Lydia chimed.

"Bryn!" I gasped, gaining everyone's attention, hoping it would stop the arguing. It looked like it worked, so that was good.

"Call, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She asked.

What kind of question was that? I had an arrow inside of me, and had been bleeding out for near fifteen minutes, while they talked about Ren. Ren…I thought to myself, trying to blink back tears. "What kind of question is that, Bryn? I've been waiting patiently while you guys were discussing what happened to me. I could have died and you wouldn't have even known!"

Bryn looked close to tears and I immediately felt bad for yelling at her. But could you really blame me for yelling. "I'm sorry, Calla." She cried, smoothing my hair back. "Can I get you anything?" She offered.

Yeah, you can get this arrow out of me. I thought. "You can get this damn arrow out of me. It really isn't as comfortable as you think."

Shay chuckled. "That's my girl." He said, looking at Lydia. "I'm going to take the arrow out of her now, and then I'm going to shift into my wolf form and give her some of my blood."

Lydia's eyes widened in awe. "Fascinating! I have heard about packblood healing another, but I have never seen it firsthand. Should be interesting." She mused, clapping her hands like an excited child.

Shay looked at me, and then to Lydia again. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but this is kind of a private matter. Do you guys think you can wait outside while we do this?" he asked, nodding at the others.

"Of course, Shay." Adne nodded. "Come on, Connor." She said, pulling him out of the room. I could see the disappointment on Connor's face. He wanted to see it too, but he followed Adne without any hesitation.

Lydia looked like she wanted to protest. "Oh please, can't I stay?" She asked, seeming like she was a child, asking an adult for permission, when in reality, she was the adult.

Shay looked at me questioningly, "It's fine, Shay." I told him, though really, I wished I could be alone with Bryn and Shay.

He nodded in agreement. "Okay, you can stay, as long as you watch from over in the corner."

Lydia nodded excitedly. "Of course, thank you. This is a once and a life time opportunity." She said, excitedly as she went to her corner.

"For you searchers, maybe." Shay explained. "But for us guardians, it happens more frequently then we care to admit."

"I'm sorry," I'll be over here if you need anything."

"Thank you." Shay thanked her, turning his attention back to me and Bryn who was getting antsy at this point. "Okay Bryn," Shay started. "I need you to hold Calla down while I take the arrow out. Then, I'm going to change forms and give her some of my blood."

Bryn frowned. "But why can't I give her the blood?"

"Shay shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bryn, but I have to do this."

"But why?" She pestered.

"I just do! Now, are you going to do what I asked, or do I have to send you out of the room? Which will it be?"

"Fine," Bryn grumbled. "I'll do it." She said, as she held my arms down. I just realized how much this was going to hurt.

"Are you read, Calla?" he asked, staring into my eyes.

Suddenly, I was nervous. I guess you could say that I was afraid of the amount of blood that would spill out of me, once Shay removed the arrow. I wasn't very keen on the sight of blood. It made me woozy, and I had already lost so much of it.

I nodded. "Just get it over with. You know how squeamish I get around blood."

"That's what I don't understand, Calla." He said, biting back a laugh. "You're a werewolf; blood is in your nature. I don't understand how you can be afraid of it.

I slapped him playfully on his leg. "We're not werewolves, Shay. How many times do I have to explain it to you?" I grinned.

"Right, sorry, guardians." He said, using quotation marks in the air as he said guardian.

"Shay," Bryn cut in. "sorry to interrupt, but we really need to get this arrow out. She's already lost so much blood."

He nodded with a slight frown. "Bryn's right. All joking aside. Okay, Calla," he whispered. "I'm going to pull the arrow out on the count of three." He said, wrapping one hand around the arrow, and placed the other hand on my side.

I nodded, looking into his eyes. I was not going to look at the blood. Focus on Shay you'll be okay. I told myself. "I'm ready."

"Okay, one two three!" Shay shouted, as he yanked the arrow out of my side.

Crap! I looked down as he did that, the sight of blood was revolting, and I fought to keep back the nausea and to keep from passing out. Look at Shay, look at Shay. I chanted to myself, as he brought his arm to his mouth and bit down, causing blood to trickle down the side. Not good not good! I thought as my vision started to blur and black spots danced around in my line of sight. No, don't go under.

A voice that sounded like an angel, called out to me. "Come on, Calla drink!" the voice ordered. Then I felt warm fur nestling against my neck, pushing me with its muzzle. "Come on Calla, you can do it." The Angel sang.

Couldn't they just tell I wanted to be left alone? I wanted to snuggle up against the warm fur and fall asleep. It would be so much better than this. "Open your eyes, Calla." The angel begged. I hadn't realized that I had closed them. "Just take a little bit of blood and it will all be over soon."

I fought with the angel, and my eyes drifted shut. I had no more power to keep them open.

Before I knew it, the warm fur was gone from my side. No! I panicked. Come back! It was helping me sleep.

"Bryn, what's wrong?" A loud panicked voice, sounded. He seemed worried. I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay, but that would use too much energy. I was too tired. "Why isn't she drinking my blood?"

A sob escaped from Bryn's mouth. "I don't know, shay. She keeps fighting it."

"Is something wrong?" A voice that reminded me of my mother, asked.

"We're not sure, just stay back please." Shay ordered, as his hands rested on my shoulders and began shaking them. "Calla, Calla! Open your eyes."

Why wouldn't they just leave me alone to die peacefully? A girl could ask for a moment's peace, couldn't she? Of course, they had to keep persisting. Maybe, if I opened my eyes just once, they would go away. I could only hope.

"Calla!" shay called again. "I demand you to open your eyes this very minute."

My eyes snapped open as he said that. I couldn't have resisted even if I wanted to. It was like something was forcing them to open. My eyes were blurry and out of focus, but I could see him. There, satisfied? Now can I get back to sleep? I wondered, closing my eyes again.

"No! Keep your eyes open, Calla. I know it hurts, but you have to focus on me. Bryn change forms. Looks like you get your wish after all."

"Tired." I managed to whisper, as my eyes tried shutting again.

"I'm sorry, Calla, but you need to stay awake right now. You can rest later, I promise."

He didn't understand, I needed to sleep now!

"What's going on in here?" Someone else broke in. Great, more people to keep me awake. Just what I needed—not.

"Nev, Mase, what are you guys doing in here?" Shay asked.

"We were in our wolf form and we heard you trying to talk to Calla. What's wrong with her, she's bleeding." Neville noted.

"I know that, Nev! I've been trying to get her to drink my blood but she is refusing and I don't know why. I'll explain everything later, but right now, I need you to help me keep Calla awake so we can get her to drink Bryn's blood. Can you do that?" He asked.

Neville nodded in response.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Neville nodded in understanding and walked on the other side of me. Mason followed Neville's suit. "Hey, Calla," Neville greeted me. "You holding up okay?"

Umm…that was the stupidest question I had ever heard! Could he not see me? I looked at him with a blank expression on my face, words still unable to escape my mouth. "Right sorry, Calla," he apologized. "Dumb question, I know. So, Shay here tells us that you're refusing to drink his blood. What's up with that?" He asked casually.

His voice was soothing to me. It was as if he was singing me some kind of lullaby. Didn't they want me to stay awake? I thought so, anyway. My eyes started drooping shut again, at the sound of his voice. "Now, Calla, you can't go falling asleep on us. We need you, Cal." He whispered to me.

Now that wasn't true. I'm sure that if I was gone, they wouldn't even miss me, right? Or was I being a bit dramatic? Probably so. They had Shay now, everything would be okay. He could lead them. I had faith in him. I wasn't needed anymore.

"Let it go, Nev." I finally whispered, though it had cost me a lot of energy.

A hand slapped along my cheek, surprising me. "Calla!" Shay scolded. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again, is that clear?"

I looked away. I couldn't bare the thought of looking at Shay and hurting him at the same time.

"We need you to be strong. Can you do that for us?" Shay asked.

Be strong? That was an interesting question to ask. I don't know if I could be strong, but if the pack still felt like they wanted me, then I'd try, if not for them, then for Shay. How would he feel if I just gave up on him? I couldn't do that. That, in Adne's words, would be betraying him. I still felt weak and tired, but I couldn't seem to look away from Shay's gaze. It was almost as if he was ordering me to keep looking at him. Stupid alpha rules, I thought, bitterly.

"Okay," I whispered, as Bryn, in her wolf form, came up to me and nestled against me. "Alright, alright." I laughed, as she licked me with her warm wet tongue.

I lifted my head and latched onto her, sucking the blood out. It was rich and warm and really really sweet. It didn't actually taste like blood, which was a good thing, seeing as how much I hated even the sight of blood. It almost, to me anyway, tasted like a super sweet piece of candy. As much as I hated blood, I didn't want to stop drinking. I could have drunk forever and I would have been the happiest girl alive.

Bryn let out a soft whimper shortly after, and tried backing away from me. I didn't want her to go. The blood tasted too good. I felt that if I were to let go, I would never be able to taste it again. I couldn't let that happen. "Calla," Shay whispered softly, as he stroked my hair. "That's enough! You're taking too much. You're hurting Bryn."

Hurting Bryn? How was I hurting Bryn? It felt absolutely wonderful to me, but I hated the thought of somehow hurting her. I didn't want her to hate me for the rest of my life if I did hurt her. Slowly, unwillingly, I released my bite from Bryn, who immediately backed away, changing back into her human form. "Bryn," I asked, afraid that I had actually hurt her. "Are you okay?" My strength seemed back to normal.

Bryn sat down and rested her head against the wall. "Just tired." She muttered, as Neville went next to Bryn and wrapped his hands around her shoulders, pulling her down to his lap.

"Bryn, I'm so sorry." I apologized. "I didn't mean to take too much of your blood. I just couldn't stop." I told her, feeling slightly guilty for taking too much.

"Don't worry about it." Bryn mumbled, as she fought to stay awake. "I'm just happy that you're okay." She said as her eyes drifted shut.

"My my my, that was fascinating indeed!" Lydia exclaimed from her small corner. I had almost forgotten that she was even in the room with us. "Is she okay, then?"

Shay looked at me questioningly. "Are you?"

I had to think about that for a moment. Was I, okay? I think I was, my side was sore, but it didn't hurt like before. And I wasn't bleeding anymore—packblood worked wonders."I think so." I nodded. "Just a little tired."

Shay nodded. "Calla! Don't you ever do that to me again, do you understand?" he shouted, startling Bryn, who jumped up from Neville's lap.

"Do what?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Scare me half to death like that. I nearly had a heart attack. Don't you ever quit on me."

I chuckled at his poor choice of words. "Sorry." I shrugged.

"Seeing as you're okay," Lydia cut in. "I'm doing to go deal with Adne now."

"Wait!" I shouted, struggling to sit up, which for some reason, proved to be rather difficult. Shay noticed me struggling and helped me to sit up.

"What is it, dear?" Lydia asked, turning to me.

Adne didn't deserve to be punished. It wasn't her fault. She was only following her father's orders. If my father had left me a note with certain instructions on it, I'm sure that I would have done the exact same thing. Adne didn't deserve to be the only one punished. I went along with her, half the blame was mine. "Don't punish Adne, please." I begged. "Punish me instead." I don't care if she punished me within an inch of my life.

Lydia did a double take. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. What did you just say?"

"No, you heard me correctly. Punish me instead. I'm begging you."

"Why would you want to take Adne's place? Did you ask to be brought along back to Vail? From what I'm gathering, she forced you to go."

Forced me? That's not true! Was it? I was hesitant to go at first, then slowly, I changed my mind. Adne definitely didn't force me to go with. It was of my own accord. Lydia was jumping to conclusions."You're wrong you know." I told her.

"Excuse me, what did you just say to me?" she asked, looking rather shocked that I would say something like that.

"I said you're wrong! Adne didn't force me. I chose to go along."

"But why?" She asked, still looking confused. Did I really have to keep explaining myself?

I had my reasons—reasons that I wasn't going to say with Shay in the room. He'd be sad, and would possibly hate me if I said them out loud. I couldn't hurt Shay, not like that. I keep saying that a lot, don't I? "Because," I started. "I couldn't let her go alone. She'd end up getting hurt or worse killed. I fight way better then her and knew we'd be okay. I'm sorry if I scared you." I said, looking down at my clasped hands.

"She still needs a scolding." Lydia objected.

"Please don't." I begged. I don't know why I was so set on defending her. We weren't even really that close, but being an alpha, I figured it was the right thing to do; even though she wasn't in my pack, let alone a guardian. It was a very rare thing for a guardian to help a searcher like that.

Lydia shook her head, slightly stunned that I would still do that. "That is very brave, Calla. Not many people would take the blame for them. She's lucky to have you as a friend. Alright," She smiled. "I will do what you ask and not punish Adne, at least this once. This is not something I do very often. Get some rest, and then when you're ready, I'd like to see you in my room." Lydia walked out of the room without another word.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shay asked. "You could be walking to your death."

Seriously, the death analogies were getting a bit old. He needed to expand his vocabulary. "Really Shay! Can't you think of anything better to say? I know I screwed up, but it doesn't mean that you have to rub it in my face every chance you get."

"I'm sorry." Shay apologized, half heartedly. "I just can't seem to help myself. But I don't get it, why take Adne's punishment, when clearly she deserves it."

"I was thinking about the same thing." Mason interjected. I had completely forgotten that he was in the room. That was the first time he'd said a word since they walked in.

"Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't, but I'm the one who gets to decide if she does. She was only following her father's wishes. You read the letter, Shay. You should understand all this."

"I just don't see why you would take the blame for someone else. I've never heard of someone doing that before."

"Just drop it, please?" I begged, hoping that they wouldn't pester me anymore about it. I was tired and ready for a nap. I didn't have anymore energy to talk about anything else.

" Alright, go rest." Shay ordered kissing me on the forehead, seeming to have read my mind.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had been a few hours since I had gone to my room to take a nap. I heard voices outside the room and it sounded like they were arguing. From the sound of their voices, I knew they were Adne and Shay. I strained my ears to that I could hear them better.

"Please, you have to let me see her." Adne begged.

"She's sleeping, let her rest. You can visit her later." Shay ordered.

"But you don't understand." She objected. "I have to talk to her!"

What could this be about? I wondered. What was so important that she had to talk to me while I was supposedly resting? There was even a sign on a door that said, "do not disturb." Apparently, Shay thought I needed more rest then I actually did. I get it; he was worried about me, but it was about to get annoying. I decided I was going to find what this was about. I stumbled out of bed and walked to the door as quietly as I could.

"I understand perfectly clear. And I can't believe that you would let her do that!" Shay fumed.

"Do what?" Adne asked, her temper starting to flare. Easy there Shay, I thought. You don't want to upset her. When Adne gets upset, she gets really upset, and I'm speaking from experience. He did not want to keep egging her on like that.

"You know what! You're so selfish. What you did was uncalled for. You know you could have gotten her killed, Adne. She's an alpha. Do you know what that means? Most people would kill to get their hands on her. I'm an alpha too, you know, and I can give orders and people have to follow them whether they like it or not."

"You can't order me to do anything!" Adne defended herself.

"Oh yes I can. My orders are simple and very easy to follow. Stay away from Calla. You get her killed and you'll wish you were never born."

Okay, I'd had it! What on earth was wrong with Shay? I knew he almost came very close to losing me today, but that doesn't give him a right to be that ferocious with anybody, even if he is an alpha. Nobody deserved to get talked to like that. I was going to put an end to this nonsense once and for all.

I opened the door, surprising both Shay and Adne. "Shay!" I scolded him. "I can't believe you just said that to poor Adne. Stop yelling at her. She hasn't done anything wrong."

Shay let out a laugh. "Really? Taking you to Vail, unwillingly, wasn't wrong?"

Shock coursed through my body. What was he saying? I couldn't believe my own ears. He had to be joking, right? "You're seriously going to be like this? Did you not just hear what I told Lydia?"

Shay shrugged. "That doesn't mean anything to me! I know you were lying. I want you to stay away from Adne from now on, is that clear?"

Oh now I was livid. How dare he tell me what to do? How dare he tell me who I could and couldn't be friends with. I could be friends with whoever the hell I wanted and damnit, Adne was my friend. "No, Shay!" I set my foot down. "You know I love you, but sometimes—like right now for example—I hate you. Adne is going to be my friend whether you like it or not. Aren't you Adne?" I asked, turning my attention back to her.

Adne's face blushed a deep red and she lowered her eyes., She looked like she'd rather be anywhere but here. Poor girl. "I…uh." She stammered.

"See," I told Shay, not even bothering for an answer from Adne. "Now get the hell out of my room, get out now!"

Shay shook his head, unable to believe that I had just refused a direct order from an alpha. I knew I'd have to pay for that later, but right now, I didn't care. "But, Calla."

"No buts. OUT! Now!" I yelled, thankful that he listened and started backing out of the room. Adne started to walk out too, probably afraid that I was going to yell at her, but I just wanted to talk. "You, stay." I said, pointing to Adne, who froze in place.

After shay was gone, I pulled Adne into the room, closing the door behind us. She had tears in her eyes and I had a feeling that she was about to start sobbing at any moment. I wasn't very good around people who cried, I got awkward. I needed to cheer her up and fast.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pulling her to the bed, plopping onto it.

She didn't answer for a minute, but after realizing that I wasn't going to bite her head off, she responded. "Thank you." She whispered.

"For what?" I wondered, slightly confused.

"What you did back there—telling Lydia not to punish me. Why would you do that?" She whispered.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Because," I started. "it was all true, everything I said. And I meant every word of it. You didn't deserve to get punished for something your father told you to do."

"I don't know how I'll ever repay you." She murmured, still in awe about what I had said. "No one has ever done anything like that for me in my life. You know that's what Lydia is going to do when you see her later."

Well news sure travelled fast. I guess my life wasn't private here. It was as if I was an open book left out in the open for everyone to read. "So what if she's going to punish me." I told her. "I can take it like a man. I'm ready for anything."

Adne shook her head. "No, I still can't let you do this! You shouldn't have to suffer for my consequences."

When was she going to get it in that thick head of her that I didn't care! I had already made up my mind and nothing, I mean nothing, can change it. I was a very stubborn person. I inherited that trait from my wonderful mother, who sadly was no longer with us. I shook my head at the thought. "I'm just sorry that Shay yelled at you. He's never been like that, and he hardly raises his voice at anyone."

"Yes, he was rather mean, but whatever. I can't really blame him for being mad at me. After all, you did almost die on my watch. He has a right to be angry."

"Will you stop that!" I exclaimed. "No he doesn't have a right to be like that. I wasn't forced to go with you. Why does everyone assume that I was?"

Okay, I was getting tired of the reruns. I wonder how many times I was going to have to say that? It had already been too many.

"Okay, enough chit chat." Adne changed the subject, which I was grateful for. "You probably shouldn't keep Lydia waiting much longer. She's not a very patient person."

I nodded in agreement. Better get it over with now, rather than later. I didn't want to get yelled at for being late. "Okay, any words of advice?" I asked.

Adne shook her head. "Not really. Just keep calm and do what she says. She can be intimidating, but try not to let her get to you. She gets a thrill out of it."

"Oksy," I exhaled. "Wish me luck." I said, as we walked out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

We stood outside of Lydia's room. I guess Adne just wanted to come with me for moral support, which I didn't mind at all. I'm glad I wasn't alone, because I think I would have freaked out and ran away. With Adne here, I was forced to stay.

"Calla, you're trembling. Are you okay? Are you sure you don't want me to go in there instead?" She asked, sweetly.

For a moment, I almost said yes. I would have gladly let her go in so I could run away, but what kind of alpha would I be if I couldn't face my trials. I couldn't go back on my word. I didn't want to be known forevermore as a coward. That would be humiliating. I'd rather wish I was dead. "No," I shook my head. "I'll be fine."

"Okay, I'll be right out here, waiting for you to return." She said as she gave me a tight squeeze.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and knocked twice, secretly hoping that she wasn't there, but I knew I wasn't so lucky. "Come in." Lydia called from behind the doors.

Adne had to open the door for me because I wouldn't move. "It's still not too late you know." She whispered in my ear.

"I'm fine." I replied, as she nudged me into the room.

"Ah, Calla, it's wonderful to see you again." She smiled, looking up from her thick pile of paper work that was lying on her cluttered desk. "Please, do come in and shut the door behind you." She instructed.

I did what Lydia asked, though I was afraid to go any closer to her.

"Please, sit." Lydia offered, as she stood up and walked around to the front of her desk and leaned lightly against it. "You can breathe, Calla. I'm not going to bite you." She grinned.

I felt myself relax some and let out a nervous chuckle. "Right, sorry." I mumbled, letting out a breath.

"No need to apologize. I scare everyone, apparently; though I have no idea why. I'm not that scary. At least, I don't think I am. Do I frighten you, Calla?" She asked, flipping her curly blonde hair to the side.

What could I say? I didn't want to say yes, because I didn't know how she would react to hearing me say that. And I didn't want to say no, because I was afraid of her. I was afraid of what she could do to me. One bite with her razor sharp teeth and I'd no longer be a guardian. I shuttered inwardly at the thought. "A little." I said quietly.

"I'm sorry for that." She apologized with a frown. "I don't mean to be frightening." She told me, as she took a few steps closer, making me scoot as far back into my brown leather chair as I possibly could. How did she expect not to be frightening when she goes and does something like that?

"I'm frightening you now, more than you let on. I can sense it. No need to be afraid, darling. As I said before, I'm not going to hurt you." She was now standing up by the arm of my chair. Her smooth skin was touching my arm.

Immediately, I lowered my arm and placed it on my lap. I didn't want her touching me, and really, darling? Where had that come from? I was not her darling. Oh I wished she'd get the punishment over so that I could hurry up and go. Then I remembered what Adne had told me, not to act like I was intimidating. She was only trying to intimidate me, nothing more.

After figuring that out, I placed my arm back on the arm rest. She frowned as I did that. Excellent! She turned and walked away soon after that. "Can you just get it over with?" I asked.

"Get what over with, dear?" She inquired.

"The punishment. That is why I am here, is it not?"

Lydia let out a shrill laugh that seemed to pierce my ears. "No no no! I believe you have been mistaken my child. There is no punishment, for you."

What, no punishment? But what happened to our agreement, that she would punish me instead of Adne? This just wasn't fair! "But you can't do this. You have to punish me. Adne goes free."

"Child," She said, turning back to me, placing a hand on my shoulder—making me flinch slightly. "As I just said, there will be NO punishment."

I sighed out of relief. Well that is good. I could breathe easier knowing that I wasn't going to die. "Then, why am I even here?"

Again Lydia frowned at me. "You're a feisty little thing, aren't you?"

I guess I was known to be a little bit feisty, but I didn't care. Better feisty then weak, I always liked to say.

"I had heard a lot about you." She continued. "And I just wanted to get to know you better, if that's okay with you?"

Okay, I guess this was a bit strange, but whatever. At least I wasn't done for. "Um…Okay." I cleared my throat.

"So, I've been longing to ask you, are you and that Shay boy together?" She asked.

Why was she wondering if Shay and I were together? Though I had to admit, sometimes I did wonder if we were together anymore, seeing as we were always fighting, but I guess that's what most couples do, right? I don't think I knew anyone who didn't argue. My parent's argued all the time. It was as if they were born to argue. "Yeah, we're together." I replied, hesitantly.

"I see." She responded. What on earth was this all about? She looked upset that Shay and I were together. "If I ask you to do something, would you do it for me?"

That depends on what she was asking me. She could be asking me to go kill myself, for all I knew. "Um…Sure." I asked, still a little bit unsure of myself. I was jumping into this blindly.

"Break up with him." She said suddenly.

What? Hell no! This lady was not my mother. She couldn't tell me what to do! She had no authority over who my boyfriend was. "Excuse me?" I choked out.

"You heard what I said. I want you to break up with him."

I shook my head out of despair. "Who do you think you are, lady? No, I will not break up with Shay!"

"Watch your tone young lady!" She cried.

"If this was what you were planning to discuss with me the whole time, then I'd rather you punish me." I said coolly.

"Well that can be arranged." She smiled, as she went back to the desk. "Though I don't think you'll like my punishment very much."

Duh, I knew that! No one ever liked to be punished. "Might as well get it over with." I muttered under my breath.

"What was that dear?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought." Apparently she had really good hearing 'cause I didn't say it that loudly, or she could read my mind, one of the two.

"Ah so you've figured it out already, very good. I'm quite impressed with you! It takes most people a lot longer to figure it out." She responded, clapping her hands.

So, the witch can read thoughts then. Very interesting indeed. I'd read about people who could do that, but I thought it was just stories—made up. I never actually believed any of it to be true. I guess I was wrong. I knew now that I had to be very careful around her, nothing was safe. It goes back to what I said earlier, about my life now being an open book—pathetic.

"I'd be careful about what you think." Her smile faded away and the corners of her mouth turned upside down, back into that famous frown of hers.

She must have heard me calling her a witch, excellent! I laughed at myself, and then cleared my head of all thoughts. I wasn't going to let her pick my brain. And how could she, if it was empty?

"You think you're a clever girl, don't you?" She asked, twirling a lock of golden hair around her pointy finger. "Well, I'm telling you that you're not safe. Even if you clear your head of all thoughts, I can still read your mind."

Well crap! I guess the best solution then, would be to stay as far away from her as I could. I would have to warn the others, they didn't know she could read minds. I wonder if Adne or Connor knew about this. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't.

"You would do that, wouldn't you?" She asked, reading my mind.

Okay, that's enough! I'm pretty sure that it was illegal to read people's minds like this. It was an invasion of privacy! "Would you stop reading my mind? It's illegal." I told her.

"No dear, it's not illegal. I'm the only one who can do it, at least that I'm aware of." She informed me.

Well, I hate to burst her bubble, but we lived in a pretty damn big world. She couldn't be the only one to be able to read minds. But I was a bit curious; I wanted to know how mind reading worked. "So," I started. "How does it work, the mind reading I mean?"

She smiled at me. "So, now you want to talk?" All signs of intimidation were now gone. It was almost like we were two friends just hanging out, striking up a conversation—almost. If it weren't for the fact that she could read minds, I might actually like her, well maybe not even then. It would take a lot for me to actually like her.

"I'm just curious." I shrugged. "I've never met anyone who could do that."

"Of course you haven't." She laughed. "As I told you, I'm the only one who can do it."

"But how do you know? Have you met everyone in the world?"

"Of course not!" She exclaimed. "I don't have to meet them to know. They don't even have to be in the same vicinity as me. I can hear anyone's thoughts from anywhere in the world."

Any thought from anywhere in the world? Well dang that was impressive. But that could also mean that she has heard my thoughts, at one point or another. It must get annoying though, I decided—to never have a moment's peace. I think—no I know—I would go crazy if that were me. Suddenly, a wave of sympathy washed over me. "Doesn't it get tiring after awhile?"

She chuckled. "Not really, no. At first it did, but after a few years, I learned how to shut it off. Then, if I ever feel like it—if I feel like being nosey—I turn it back on. It's like turning on and off a light switch, very easy."

Then why did I get the feeling that she wasn't telling me the whole truth? I had a feeling that she was sugar coating the whole thing; and that it was a lot harder to shut off then she let on. Oh well, if she wanted to say it like that, then I wasn't going to stop her.

I wanted to know if she had ever read my thoughts, and which ones she read. I shuttered at the thought of knowing that someone could have been spying on me my whole life. "So, uh…" I stammered. "Have you ever read my thoughts before?" I asked. "Before I came here, I mean?"

Lydia looked down at her hands sheepishly. She had a guilty look on her face and at that moment, I knew. "I'm sorry. I had heard a lot about you. I had even heard about the union. I had to keep tabs on you. You were a very naughty girl, weren't you?" She had a twinkle in her eyes.

She was actually very pretty when she wasn't trying to scare people. She had thick curly blond hair that cascaded to the middle of her back, and had piercing blue eyes that seemed to be as bright as the sky on a cloudless day. Her cheeks had a splash of red painted on them, lighting up her whole face. Sorry, I don't know what made me think of that, I guess it was the twinkle in her eye.

But why would she think that I was naughty? What could she have possibly heard, to think that I was?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What did you hear?" I asked, slightly annoyed that she wasn't going into more detail.

"That you were seeing Renier Laroche and Shay, at the same time. You were a greedy person, weren't you?" She snickered.

My nostrils began flaring. It wasn't like that at all. Okay, maybe it was, but that's not my point. She didn't have any right to pick through my brain like that. Apparently, my life had never been private—regardless of whether or not I thought it was. "How dare you!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my chair, knocking it into the wall.

"You'll want to calm down." Lydia told me.

Calm down? How could I calm down after hearing that? I was in a rage and I knew that I had to get out of there before I did something I'd regret doing—like killing her.

"You won't get very far with that." She sang, reading my thoughts, making me even angrier.

"You really don't want to mess with me right now." I warned, as I walked to the door.

"And where do you think you are going, dear?

Again with the dear! She really needed to stop calling me that. "Getting out of here, before I do something stupid. Do you really want me to kill you?" I seethed.

"Oh you won't. You'll be down before you can even take one step." She grinned.

Ha! I was a lot faster than her. Guardians were known for their speed. I was pretty sure that I could handle her, she was nothing to me.

As if to prove her point, Lydia stretched out her right hand and crossed her eyes in concentration. I felt immense pain in my head and I collapsed to the ground in agony. It was almost like I was being suffocated, had a thousand knives piercing my brain, and had a truck crushing my skull as it collided with me—all at the same time. Let me tell you, it was not something I wanted to feel ever again. Once was enough to get her point across.

So she had powers, but that didn't make her stronger than me. I've taken down plenty of grown men that were twice her size. A little power wouldn't stop me. "Enough!" I panted. "I get your point." I said, hoping she'd fall for it and let me go.

"Do you?" She asked, sending another wave of intense pain to my brain.

"Yes!" I screeched, praying that she would stop and let me up.

"Good." she cried, putting her hand down, releasing the pressure. Immediately I could breathe again, thank God.

"Do you really think that you are stronger than me now?"

"Hell yes." I told her truthfully.

"We'll see about that."

What is this about? Was she challenging me to a fight? Oh I hoped so. I was itching to hit someone who didn't actually want to kill me. She didn't want to kill me, right? "Is that a challenge?" I asked.

Lydia glanced in the mirror on her wall, making sure that her face was still pretty, and smiled widely. "Maybe."

I took that as a definite yes. I wanted to prove to her that I was stronger then she thought. Nothing was going to stop me now. "Excellent." I grinned.

"On a better note," She chimed. "I still want you to dump Shay." She put her hands up to stop me from arguing. "Now, before you get all defensive, let me explain myself."

I clenched my jaw shut and plopped back down on the rather comfy leather chair. "There's nothing that you can say or do that will make me change my mind, but whatever floats your boat."

"Thank you dear." She whispered, as she twirled in a circle and sat down, strumming her fingers on her desk. "Where to begin?" She asked, with a slight frown.

"How bout the beginning?" I offered, just longing to get out of here and get back to Adne.

She smiled at me. "Very well. When I was seventeen years old, I met a boy—man actually." Oh gosh, this wasn't about to become some sob story was it? I was afraid that, by the far away look in her eyes, that it was.

"He was a wonderful man. " She continued. "He was kind and absolutely adored me, as I did him. My mother didn't approve of our relationship, but I didn't care. I snuck out all the time to see him. We were going to be together and nothing anyone could do would stop us. It was like we were soulmates. Every time that I saw him, my heart raced a million miles a minute and I got hundreds of butterflies that fluttered in my stomach, the palms of my hands even got sweaty. He was a handsome man, short, but I didn't care about the height. As long as he loved me, that was all that mattered. It was my seventeenth birthday, he took me home to his apartment; he lived alone and we ended up sleeping together."

"Are you really going to tell me about your pathetic love life?" I interrupted.

Anger washed over her face, and I could tell that she was annoyed at me for interrupting. "Yes, I am. And it's not pathetic!" she cried. "As I was saying," She went on. "It was the best night of my life. It felt like Christmas, the Fourth of July and my birthday all mixed in at once. I didn't want that night to end, but there was nothing I could do to freeze time. I always thought it would be cool if I could." She chuckled.

"Anyways, shortly after that wonderful night, I found out that I was pregnant. I was terrified to tell my mother. We didn't have the best relationship in the world and I knew that she would hate me for the rest of my life if she were to ever find out. I kept the pregnancy from her as long as I could, but you can't hide a baby bump for long, regardless if you wear baggy clothes. It was around the time I became pregnant that I began to hear things—peoples thoughts. I thought I had gone crazy, I couldn't figure out what was happening to me, and I'm pretty sure that Stephen even thought I was too, but he never once said a word about it."

I kind of laughed at that remark. For some reason, I could not picture Lydia wearing baggy pants and an over-sized sweat shirt. I always pictured her as the type who always wore long frilly overly expensive, fancy dresses.

"Needless to say, I couldn't hide it from her anymore and she found out. Boy was she furious with me. The moment she found out, she banished me from the house, forbidding me ever to go back there. She didn't even give me enough time to pack a bag. I haven't seen her since." She said, sadly. "She doesn't even know that she has a grandson. I tried calling her, shortly after he was born, but she refused to talk to me. Stephen was wonderful though," She added. I took it that Stephen was her boyfriend. "He let me and the baby live with him, after I had spent a few weeks living on the streets. It was like I was a homeless person, which, as you can imagine, not fun." She whispered.

"The baby was born on August fifteenth. I had him at home, because I couldn't even afford to go to the hospital, but Stephen took great care of me. It was as if we were an actual married couple, I wished we were, but things didn't turn out that way, sadly. Stephen loved the boy so much, that he hardly ever wanted to be apart from him and we eventually came up with a name for the baby that both of us agreed on. His name is Connor." She said slowly, as she looked at me to see what my reaction would be.

I kept my face perfectly smooth, unwillingly to give anything away. Then, it dawned on me, Connor! The Connor that Adne hung out with. "You're talking about the Connor that Adne is close too, right?" I hoped I was wrong.

Lydia smiled as I said that. "Excellent. I'll tell you more about Connor later, but let me finish my story first. Don't worry," she laughed. "I'm almost done.

"As I was saying, Stephen adored baby Connor. He was always doting on him and spoiling the boy rotten. Whenever Stephen would come across some money, he would buy something nice for the baby. That's what he was doing the night he died. He was on his way home from the store, when some guardians attacked him I suppose that they thought Stephen was a threat, but he wouldn't even hurt a fly. Stephen was killed instantly. They didn't even give him a chance to explain why he was in their territory. I wouldn't have ever found out that Stephen had died, had it not been for the store owner—who happened to be a close friend of ours—who came to the door and told me himself. Needless to say, I was devastated. I mean, wouldn't you be if you found out that your fiancé was dead?

"I wanted to get revenge on the men who killed my fiancé. It took me awhile to find them, seeing as I didn't realize that they were guardians at first, but I eventually got them, killing them one by one. Charles, the store owner, eventually had to tell me to stop. The police were getting suspicious about the death and he didn't want to see me get arrested. Charles brought me here to the academy, shortly after that and I've been living here ever since. It took me awhile to get as high up in the ranks as I am now, but I finally managed it, and Charles has been living here too, and has taken the roll as Connor's father. He's been very kind to me, though I know I don't deserve his kindness. He keeps telling me that I'm silly for thinking like that, but I can't help the way I feel. I guess I just haven't forgotten Stephen, it's hard for me to think of anyone else as Connor's father, but he does such a great job."

I was still confused about things, like what did I have to do with this? "I'm sorry, I'm just a bit confused." I told her.

"About what, dear?"

"Where do I fit into all of this?" I asked.

A smile curled up on her lips. "Ah but that is the easy part, my dear. I want you to go out with my Connor. He's such a nice boy."

She had to be joking, right? There was no way in hell that I would ever go out with Connor, especially if there was something going on between Adne and him. "But what about Adne?" I inquired.

"What about her?"

"I'm pretty sure that Connor and Adne like each other."

"Oh I know they do, darling." She sang. "But I don't care. Adne isn't good for my son. He needs someone better."

And she thinks I'm that person? I don't think so. A searcher and a guardian would never get together, no matter the stories I had heard about, recently. "I'm not that girl." I said, quietly. "I'm sorry. I must be going now." I said, feeling sick to my stomach. I needed some air.

"Please, think about it." She called. "And don't forget about our little challenge. I'll let you know of the time and place. I'm looking forward to it." I nodded at her and left the room, shutting the door tightly behind me.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I took a sigh of relief and walk away from Lydia's room, afraid that she would change her mind about letting me go, and sank to the floor—pulling my knees up to my chest and rest my forehead against them. For some reason, I was exhausted. Just talking to Lydia wore me out. I hope I didn't have to see her often.

As much as I didn't want to, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Lydia. She had a hard life, and I don't know what I would do if I ever got pregnant and my parents disowned me, though I for one, wouldn't be that careless as to get pregnant so young.

I heard footsteps across the floor and I looked up to see who was coming. It was Adne; she had a worried look on her face and rushed to my side as soon as she saw me. "Are you alright, Calla?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. I just have a lot to process. She likes to talk a lot, doesn't she?"

Adne gave me half of a grin and nodded. "I'm sorry, I guess I should have warned you about that before you entered the room. What did she to you? Did you get punished?"

"Relax, Adne. No, she did not punish me, but after going through what I just did, I'd rather I was punished." I sighed. "Did you know that she has a child?" I asked.

Adne nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think that she knows that I know."

"You do know that it's Connor, right?" I questioned, hoping that I just didn't spoil a secret that wasn't meant to be told.

She looked down at me, as she sat Indian style on the ground next to me. "Yes, Calla, I know it's Connor. We're trying to keep our relationship a secret. I don't think she likes me very much."

So it was true then, I knew that, but for some reason I didn't want to believe it. I guess Adne decided to follow her father's wishes; which I thought was sweet. "Then you should know," I whispered, dreading to have to tell her this. "that she wants you and Connor to break up."

Adne crossed her beautiful eyes angrily. "Oh the hag!" she shouted. "Wait til I see her! She won't know what's coming." She fumed. I figured it was better that I leave out the part where she wanted me to go after Connor. I didn't want or need another reason for her to hate me. We were just starting to get along.

"I'd be careful what you think. Do you know that she can read thoughts too?" I asked, but judging by the look on Adne's face I'd gather that she didn't know.

"Really? Are you sure?" She asked.

"Positive." I nodded, still in disbelief that Adne didn't know anything about this.

"I can't believe that I never knew about this." She seethed, shaking her head.

"How would you have known, unless she told you of course?"

"Because," she whispered. "I can hear thoughts too, only I hide it from everyone. I don't know what would happen if she were to find out. You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this! It has to be a secret between us." She warned.

I nodded in understanding. "of course, I wouldn't ever dream of telling anyone. She thinks that she is the only one who can do it."

Adne smiled. "Well, I hate to burst her bubble, but she's wrong. The reason she doesn't know that everyone else can read minds, is because everyone hides it. We're afraid of people finding out and what they could do to us if someone did find out. It could be very dangerous."

"So there are more then?" I wanted to know.

She nodded. "Here at the academy, at least one more that I know of. It makes communicating that much more easier. If we don't feel like talking, we just listen to each other thoughts. It's nice that I'm not the only one here who can do it, but sometimes, like if I want to be alone or am in a bad mood, it can get a little annoying."

I could imagine. It would be hard to never have a moment's privacy. "Who's the other person, then?" I wondered, curiosity getting the better of me. I knew I probably shouldn't be asking all these questions, but I went on asking anyway.

"You just learned about him, Connor." She whispered.

Of course it was! I should have guessed that it was something that could have been passed down from generation to generations. "So," I wondered. "could your father read minds too?"

Adne shook her head sadly and immediately, I felt guilty for bringing Monroe up. I was just curious. "No, I was the only one in my family that could, which is a rarity. I couldn't figure out how I inherited it, unless it was like a great great great grandparent or something."

Hmm…That was strange. Maybe I was wrong then. Maybe it wasn't passed down from generation to generation. Maybe it—being the power—just chose the person. Though I kind of know how she felt though about not having any privacy. You see, when we are in our wolf form, we can hear each other's thoughts. It makes communicating easier when we are apart from each other, but nothing is private. There is no way to keep anything a secret. Eventually, they'll find out—no matter how hard you try. "So, in order to get this power, it has to be somehow passed down to you?" I stupidly asked.

Adne nodded. "Yes, and I've done a ton of research on my family and I haven't been able to find anything stating that any one of my relatives could read minds. It's really getting quite frustrating, because I really want to know.

"But you just said this earlier yourself, that people hide this from everyone, so then why would they write it down? People would eventually find out about it that why."

"True," she nodded. "But you would have thought that they would keep journals. Most people in my family do. And don't people write down their most private thoughts in their journals? So why not write something like that down?"

She had a good point. "But how would you find all these journals? I'm sure you have a ton of relatives and they wouldn't just leave their journals out in the open for everyone to read, would they?"

"That's true," She smiled. "but that doesn't mean I can't go sneaking around."

My my my! I guess she wasn't the well-behaved person that I thought she was. She certainly puts on a good show. I would have never in a million years expected her to be the type who would sneak into other people's houses. I was starting to like her a whole lot better now. "So, you seriously break into people's houses?" I asked. "Aren't you afraid of getting caught?"

She shook her head and smiled again. "Of course not silly. I use portals. It makes breaking and entering so much easier."

I returned the smile. "I still can't picture you breaking into houses." I laughed. "I'm liking you a lot more now." I winked, with a flick of my hair.

She slapped me playfully on the leg. "That makes me feel so much better about myself, gee thanks a lot." She lowered her head and then frowned. Great, I upset her; I hope she wasn't mad at me. "But sersiously, I've got to stop doing that."

"But why?" I asked. "You can't just give up looking." If I were her, I'd make sure I dug in every nook and cranny.

"I have to. Maybe I'm not meant to find out, and my father would be so disappointed in me if he ever found out that I was breaking into people's houses. "

"Come on, Adne. He's not here, is he? You don't have to worry about that."

Her eyes snapped up at me. "That was a mean thing to say!" She cried. "Here I go, going out of my way to make sure that you're alright and you throw it in my face. I thought you were my friend." She shrieked, as she went to stand up. "Friends don't do that to each other."

She was right. I was way out of line. I should have bit my tongue and not said anything at all. Why oh why do I always have to do this? I get along so well with someone for awhile, but then my big stupid mouth has to go and ruin it. I needed to learn to control myself and think about what I am going to say before I say them. "Adne, wait!" I called out. "Come on, sit back down, please? You know I didn't mean that."

"You know, I'm beginning to think that I don't know what you mean at all." She told me. "That's the second time you've done that to me."

Second time? I don't recall doing that before. "What are you talking about, Adne?"

"Remember you told me that I was stupid?" She reminded me. "When we were trying to bring back Ren"

Now who was the one being unfair? She was twisting my words around. "That's not what I meant and you know it. You're just twisting what I said around."

"So now you're calling me a liar?" she fumed.

"Of course not!" Ugh…talking to Adne was getting frustrating and nearly as exhausting as when talking to Lydia. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that and hurt you. It's this damn mouth of mine. I say things without thinking about them. It's something that I am struggling to work on. You have to know how sorry I am." Please, Adne. I thought to her, hoping that she would hear my thoughts and forgive me. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry.

I could see in Adne's eyes that I knew that she had heard me and was fighting with herself about whether or not she should forgive me. "Okay," She breathed. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm still a little jumpy when it comes to my father."

"Of course! I understand completely, and you have every right to be jumpy. After all, your father just died. I mean, I would be jumpy too." I told her, ignoring the fact that my own mother was murdered right before her father died, so I knew how she felt. At least, Adne had people to talk to about her father. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to talk to anyone. Tears stung my eyes and threatened to spill over as I thought about her.

**ANN: sorry for the slow update, I haven't had time to write, but hopefully will get two more chapters posted up shortly. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy. Reviews would be nice.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Ande's eyes flickered to me and sympathy washed over her face and immediately I began to feel guilty for thinking of my mother, when she could hear my thoughts. That wasn't very nice of me. "Calla!" she scolded me. "Don't think like that! Of course you have every right to be thinking of your mother. Forgive me for being so careless."

I nodded my head to let her know that I forgave her, but my mind wasn't there anymore. I was stuck in the past and I was thinking about my mother.

FLASHBACK

It was my fourth birthday, yes I had a very good memory and could remember that far back, and I was playing outside in the sandbox—making a sandcastle. My mother had just come outside to tell me that it was time to go in. All I could think of at the time was how beautiful my mother looked. I remember that she wore a long black floral dress that flowed down to her feet, and her long golden-brown hair blew every which way in the breeze. Her cheeks were a bright rosy color that lit up her face. To me, she looked like an angel.

"Calla," She sang, as she stepped up to the swing set. Yes, my parent's allowed me to play outside by myself. They didn't worry about me; I could handle myself just fine. I knew not to talk to strangers. "Time to come inside!"

"Five more minutes mommy." I begged, hoping that she would let me play outside longer. I loved being outside. I loved the feel of the glorious sunshine that beat down on my neck and warmed me up.

"No, darling." She told me, as she bent down to my level. "It's time to go. And besides, that's what you said five minutes ago. Daddy wants you to open presents now, and Bryn just got here. She wants to see you."

My eyes lit up when she told me that. Bryn was my best friend and we loved spending time with each other. "You should have told me that!" I scolded, as I clamored out of the sand box, accidently kicking sand everywhere.

"Calla!" My mother shouted, as she brushed the sand off her beautiful dress.

"oops, sorry mama." I apologized, as I raised my arms, in hopes that she would pick me up.

Mother laughed when she saw me and bent down to pick me up. I remember being so excited when I saw Bryn, and opened the beautiful best friend necklace that she brought me. I remembered getting a stuffed teddy bear from my brother, and a gorgeous, over-sized doll house from my mother and dad. I don't think I ever stopped playing with that doll house until I was about ten years old. Those were definitely the best days of my life, and I wished that I could go back to them when we were still a family and we didn't have to worry about anyone being killed.

END FLASHBACK

Tears had now spilt over and there was nothing I could have done to stop them. Adne had scooted closer to me, wrapping her arms around me, smoothing my hair back as she rocked my back and forth. Here she was comforting me, when I clearly should have been the one comforting her. "Calla, is there anything I can get you?" She offered, sweetly.

I shook my head. There wasn't really anything that I wanted, except maybe Shay. He always knew how to comfort me whenever I was sad. There was something about the way in which he touched me and soothed me with his comforting words that no one else could do. But after the way I talked to Shay earlier, I doubt he would want to ever come.

"I'll get him for you." Adne whispered, as she went to stand up.

Immediately, I grabbed her hand. I hated being left alone when I was this sad. I tended to somehow get in a state of depression and it was hard to get out of. "Please, don't leave me alone." I begged.

Adne nodded and sat back down, continuing to comfort me. I could tell that she was worried about me, but there was nothing I could do. "Okay, I'll stay." She whispered, pulling me closer. "You're going to be okay, Calla, I promise. I won't let you get depressed." Of course she would know about that, I winced.

XXX

There was something really wrong with Calla. I knew that she was just thinking about her mother, but no one that I knew of ever got like this. She wanted Shay but wouldn't let me up to get him. I guess I was just going to have to use my telepathy. Yes, I was leaving this part out, when talking to Calla. She didn't need to know everything about me. I had the right to have a few secrets of my own. Not only could I read thoughts, but I could also send thoughts into other people's minds. I'm pretty sure that Lydia couldn't do that. I was feeling pretty smug about being able to do something that Lydia couldn't. it made me happy.

Though I couldn't believe that Lydia had mind reading abilities too, only hers seemed much more advanced than mine. I couldn't read everyone's minds; I could only read the minds of those around me. It would be nice to have the ability to read everyone's mind in the entire world though.

'Shay' I sent my thoughts to him, hoping that he would hear me and come as quickly as he could.

I could tell that he heard me calling him and that he was slightly confused and freaking out about what had just happened. 'Shay, don't freak out okay.' I told him. 'it's Adne. I need you, or well Calla needs you. Just think and I'll be able to hear you.'

'Adne?' He questioned. 'How are you doing that?'

'I'm telepathic.' I told him smugly. 'I can read and sent thoughts to people's minds.'

'I know what a telepathic is.' He sounded annoyed. 'I'm not stupid.'

'I didn't say that you were.' I argued. 'but seriously, Shay, I need you to come here right away. It's Calla, something's wrong. I'm worried about her.'

'What do you mean? What happened?' he asked.

'I'll explain it to you later, but right now, you better come as quickly as you can.'

'Okay, I'm on my why. Where are you exactly?' He asked.

'outside Calla's bedroom.' I explained. I knew we needed to get Calla into her bedroom before someone started asking questions. She didn't need that.

'Okay, will be there in a sec.'

I could tell that Shay was on his way, because I could feel it in his mind. He was worried. He hated the fact that something could be wrong with Calla, and he wanted to get here as fast as possible—good.

Before I knew it, Shay was here and immediately I felt relieved. I knew it was wrong of me, but now that he was here, I could go. I honestly didn't want to be around Calla when she was like this. I knew it sounded bad, but it wasn't because I was mad at her, but because I was beginning to feel sad about my own father. I didn't want to cry, especially with Shay around. He made me nervous for some reason.

XXX

My mind raced in fear for Calla. Something was wrong and I didn't know what. I reached Calla and Ande in less than two minutes. I hadn't gone very far when calla sent me from her room. I hated being apart from her and I hated fighting.

The reason I didn't go far when Calla sent me from her room, was because of just this reason. If Calla needed something, I would be able to get there quickly. "Adne!" I greeted, as I saw her, but my attention immediately went to Calla, who was curled and wrapped in Adne's arms. "So what happened?" I asked, kneeling in front of Calla, trying to pry her hands—unsuccessfully—from her face.

Her face was red and I could tell that she had been clawing herself. Oh no, please don't be depressed. The last time she was depressed, she went as far as slicing her wrists with a knife, or any sharp object that she could find. I didn't want her to go through that again. And honestly, I didn't know if I could go through that again. It really tore me up seeing her like that.

"I really don't know." Adne whispered. "she was thinking about her mom and just started sobbing. I didn't know what to do, so I called you."

I nodded my thanks. "It was good that you called me when you did, because It would be bad if she gets depressed"

"How do you know that she's not already?" She asked.

"You're right, I don't. I have to try to get her talking, and get her to stop clawing at her face." I told her, feeling annoyed that Adne hadn't tried to stop her. "Calla," I whispered, once again trying to pull her hands down. "Sweetheart, please look at me. Lift your head up and look at me." I ordered. Since I was the head alpha, I knew that she would have to listen to me.

"Does it really work that way?" Adne asked.

"What do you mean?"

"When you order Calla to do something, she has to respond?"

I nodded my head. "Everyone has to respond to me, no matter if they are in my pack or not. If someone doesn't respond, there will be hell to pay. No one wants to defy an order from an alpha."

A look of confusion spread over Adne's face. "But I thought calla was an alpha too? I didn't think that she had to take orders from anyone."

"it doesn't work that way." I told her.

"Why not?"

"Because, I'm the head alpha. And everyone, I mean everyone, has to answer to me. No way around it."

"That just doesn't seem right, or fair." She grumbled.

"Well haven't you ever heard the phrase, life isn't fair?"

"Of course I have, but that just doesn't mean that I like it, or that Calla should have to follow orders like that. It just seems so wrong." She replied.

Well, she didn't have to like it, and besides, she wasn't a guardian, so she couldn't fully understand it like we could. No, not everybody was happy about it, the other alphas especially, but that was the rule. The penalty for breaking that rule was severe. It consisted of banishment from the pack and or death. It was cruel, but the elders wanted to make sure that it wasn't taken as a joke.

I know Calla had already defied one order that I had given earlier, but I was trying to be lenient. After all, she had just lost her mother and had been hurt. It was one that I could let slide by, but I knew that I couldn't do it again, especially when I knew that there were other people watching me. But enough about that, I would worry about it later. Right now, I had to try and reach Calla before she was too far gone. "Do you think you could go get Bryn?" I asked. Bryn was more likely to have luck reaching her if I for some reason couldn't.

"Of course." She said, just standing there, not moving—like she was calling her with her mind. I was hoping that she would get up and go get Bryn. I kind of wanted to spend a few minutes alone with Calla. I hadn't actually spent that much time with her since we got here. It seemed that she was too busy yelling at me, or hanging out with Adne, her new best friend. Don't get me wrong, I was glad that she was making new friends, but I wanted to be the one to spend time with her. I guess you could say that I was jealous.

"Do you think you could actually go get her?" I asked. I'm sure that she had already read my thoughts and knew that I wanted to be alone with her, right Adne? I thought to her.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving." She said, quickly standing up.

"Thank you." I said, turning my attention back to Calla.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Calla, can you tell me what's wrong?" I asked in desperation.

She sniffed and looked up at me, slowly taking her hands off her face, which I immediately placed in mine. "Shay," She hiccupped. "is that you?" Her beautiful face, that was once perfect, was now red and puffy and even bleeding in some places. Why oh why did she have to go and do things like this whenever she got upset; which thankfully, wasn't very often. Usually, she controlled her emotions pretty well. It was a rare thing when you saw Calla crying.

"Yes, darling I'm here." I cooed, scooting closer, resting her hands in my lap—technically so she couldn't try clawing at her already marred face. "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly, though I should have known that the answer to that question would probably be no.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, ignoring my question; which was kind of annoying to me.

"Calla, I want you to reply with a no bullshit answer." I probably could have spoken in a softer tone. I was known for being harsh, but that was just how I was. I couldn't help myself most of the time.

She cowered into the wall, looking hurt that I had just yelled at her and gave her an order. Great, now I felt bad, but she was going to answer me whether she wanted to or not. "I can't explain it." She whispered.

"You can and you will. Whatever just happened wasn't normal! You don't cry like that for nothing." I told her, gripping her wrists perhaps a little too harshly. I could see that she was struggling to try and break free, but I wasn't about to let her go.

"You didn't let me finish." She reported. "I was going to say, that I can't explain it very well. A weird feeling over came me that I just couldn't shake off. Oh Shay, my mother." She cried, falling heavily into my arms.

"There there, it's alright." I tried soothing her, as Bryn and Adne entered the hallway.

XXX

"How's she doing?" I heard Bryn asking. I hadn't known that she had been here with Shay and myself. I raised my head from Shay's arms and looked at her, though she had a shocked expression on her face. "Calla!" Bryn gasped, rushing towards me, falling to the ground next to me. "What did you do to yourself?"

"Leave me alone, Bryn, I'm fine." I lied, just hoping to be left alone. I didn't want all the company, even though Shay seemed to think that I did.

"She's lying." Adne cut in. Ugh, it was so not fair that she could read my thoughts at any time that she wanted.

"Stop reading my mind!" I spat angrily at Adne. "Leave me the hell alone!" Didn't these people have any shred of respect? It wasn't a crime to want to be left alone, though everyone seemed to think like it was.

"Calla!" Shay scolded me. "You don't talk to them, especially Bryn—who happens to be your equal—like that. Don't you remember that they are your friends?"

Just because they were my friends, didn't mean that I had to like them right now. And they could all stop acting like I was a two year old at any time, now. It was getting really frustrating. "Will you at least stop talking to me like I'm a two year old?" I begged.

"Well maybe, if you started acting like you were an adult, instead of a child, then we would." Shay informed me.

Okay, that was the last straw for me. I was more angry than I had been in a very long time. I was so angry, that I wanted to hit or hurt someone. It just seemed like the greatest thing ever. They had all better back away from me, if they knew what was good for them. I pulled my hands, forcefully, from Shay's grip and stood up. "Ever since you've become head alpha you've been ordering everyone—me in particular—around and I'm sick of it!" I seethed, trying to step around Shay, but he kept blocking my way.

"Calla, come on. Let's be real. You know that I am just doing my job. No need to get all mean about it. And I'm pretty sure that you didn't have a problem with me before today. What's changed?"

He was right. Something had changed from within me and I was not happy about. To be honest, I was a little bit scared of myself. I couldn't seem to control my anger. I desperately wanted it to go away. "I don't know." I managed to whisper, after a few minutes. "Something is wrong with me and I don't know what. I'm scared, Shay." I began trembling and Shay came up, wrapping his arms around me.

He looked like he was about to say something, when a scream pierced through the air, making me jump about a foot above the ground. "Adne what's wrong?" Bryn panicked, as she picked Adne up from the floor.

"I..I don't know. I'm sorry Calla, but I was trying to see your mind, to make sure that you were telling the truth when it hit me."

"When what hit you?" I asked, annoyed that she was still trying to read my thoughts, even though I had asked her to stop.

"I..I'm not sure." She stammered. "It was like I had been hit by a dark wall. Whatever it was it was scary. Whenever I tried to look in, it felt like it was paralyzing me and I couldn't see or feel anything. Why did you do that to me, it hurt?"

"Adne, I didn't do it on purpose! But maybe you do deserve that for eavesdropping. Didn't your parents ever tell you that it was wrong to eavesdrop?"

I knew that I was being unfair, but I couldn't seem to help myself. It was as if I was just itching for a fight. "Calla, tell us what we can do to make the anger or darkness or whatever it is, go away." Shay begged.

I don't know! I thought angrily. They were all just making it worse. If they all left, I might be okay, but I didn't figure that was likely to happen. "You don't understand," I told him, putting my head in my hands, which immediately, Shay pulled away from my face and held onto them. "Let go of my hands, Shay."

"Why?" He asked. "So that you can scratch at your face again? I think not."

What was he talking about, scratching at my face? I hadn't scratched my face as far as I could remember. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Adne, do you have a mirror?"

Adne nodded, a little hesitantly, but reached into her pocket and pulled out a mirror, handing it with trembling hands to Shay. "I'll never understand girls and their makeup." He chuckled.

Shay opened the mirror and slowly, handed it to me. Did I want to look at myself? I took a deep breath, glancing at my reflection in the small mirror and gasped in horror at what I saw. How on earth could that have possibly happened? I barely had nails. They couldn't have done that much damage, could they? "But how?" I asked, throwing the mirror down in disgust. My whole right side and upper left part of my face was clawed. It looked like I had just been attacked by a bear.

I tried backing away from Shay. I didn't want to risk somehow hurting him too. "Calla, what are you doing?" Shay asked, confusion sweeping over his face.

"Stay away from me." I told him. "I don't want to hurt you."

Shay looked at me like was stupid or something. "You won't, Calla. I know you."

"But how can you be so certain? I didn't even realize that I had done this to myself. What's to stop me from doing it to you?" I asked.

"Because, I know you, Calla. I know you would never hurt me. You've said it yourself a thousand times over."

Maybe he thought that, but after today, I didn't have any idea as to what I was capable of doing anymore. If I were Shay, I would want to stay as far away as humanly possible. But if Shay didn't think I would hurt him, well it was his face. "What is wrong with me?" I groaned. "Can you please let go of my hands?" I begged, knowing that Shay would no doubt say no.

He had to think about that for a second before answering my question. "If you promise not to touch your face."

Really, did he still that I was two? I wasn't that dumb, but if he wanted me to promise him, then I would. "Okay, I promise." I rushed.

Shay looked at me for a long agonizing minute and finally, he released his grip on my hands. "Okay, but only because I trust you."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It had been a few days since my incident in the hallway. In some ways, I was better than I was, but then there were time when I would just get really angry. I knew Shay kept worrying about me and kept staring at me, like I was a crazy person who needed watched all the time, for fear of doing something stupid.

News had spread around fast, about what I had done and everyone began to keep an annoying distance from me. It was like everyone was afraid of me—like I had committed some horrible crime. It was getting to the point where it was becoming a little bit ridiculous, and it was driving me up the wall because the only people would even talk to me were Bryn and Shay. Even Adne, whom I thought was I starting to along with really well, steered clear from me. I think she was afraid that I would her again, though really, she got what she deserved. Maybe it would teach her a lesson.

I had walked into the commons area and saw a bunch of people huddled together—whispering. Shay, Adne and Bryn were among them. As soon as someone noticed that I had entered the room, everyone immediately stopped talking and looked up at me. It was almost as if they were talking about me and didn't want me to hear what they were saying. But what really drove me mad, was that Shay was looking more guilty then anyone one else there. "Okay, I've had it!" I shouted at them, after realizing that they weren't going to stop gawking at me. "You want to say something, just say it, don't be afraid of hurting my feelings. You don't think I know that you're talking about me behind my back? I have ears, you know!"

Shay stood up and started walking towards me. "Come, on calla. Not everything that everybody talks about is about you. Aren't you being just a little bit ridiculous?"

Really, I couldn't believe that Shay was taking their side. What happened to being my boyfriend? Weren't boyfriends/girlfriends supposed to go along with you no matter what? "You think I'm being ridiculous? What about you? You're supposed to be my boyfriend. And you, Bryn." I shrieked, looking at Bryn who had cowered into Adne. "You're supposed to be my best friend."

Bryn looked like she was about to cry. "I am your best friend." She argued, her lower lip quivering. "You're the one who doesn't know what you're talking about. You come bursting in here assuming that we were talking about you. You could have just asked anyone of us and we would have happily filled you in on what was going on. But now, I'm not so sure that anyone would want to fill you in after that.

Fill me in on what? Okay now I was really curious about what everyone was talking about. "Fill me in on what?" I inquired.

Bryn glanced back down without saying anything, Shay came to her rescue. "We're thinking about doing another rescue mission."

"Rescue mission?"

"Yes, we're going to try and get Ren, again."

Okay, that really pissed me off. I would have liked to have been informed about this. But no, everyone was so freaking terrified of me, that it just slipped their minds to tell me. "I supposed it was too much trouble to let me in on this?" I grumbled.

"We—Bryn and I—wanted to, but they didn't want me to tell you. I think they were afraid of how you would react." He said, nodding towards the other, who immediately lowered their gazes and got back to talking in frantic whispers to each other.

"Why are they interested in bringing Ren back, anyways?" I asked. The only people that would have known about Ren would have been Shay, Bryn, and Adne—and of course, Mason, Neville and Sabine, but they weren't here at the moment. These other people could probably care less about him.

"Because, he's Adne's brother." Shay told me. "And because, of that they are interested. They want to help bring him back."

Suddenly I realized this wouldn't be good. With Ren back, who knew how Ren and Shay would get along. And myself, well that was another story. I would probably run right back into Ren's arms, even though he tried to kill me, twice. I was aching to see him. There was a part of me that still loved him; I don't think I could ever stop loving Ren. I knew that I could never tell Shay any of this, who knew how he would take it. Our relationship had been a bit rocky since we got here.

Then I realized that Adne, was probably listening to me, though she didn't have the look on her face that she usually did when she was reading other people's minds. I figured that I'd better be safe, so I sent a warning to her, just in case. Better safe than sorry. 'Say anything about what you just heard, and you'll wish you were never born.'

There were no emotions coming from Adne's face. Either she was really good at blocking them, or else she had not heard me; which was good. It made my life so much easier, knowing that I wouldn't have to kill her.

"You okay?" Shay asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I told him. Oh why did this have to happen! Things would be better if it were just going to be me and Shay, but I couldn't worry about that right now. I couldn't let them know that I was afraid to bring Ren back. I wanted to go with them. If it meant I got to fight, then I was all for it. I just wouldn't be able to let my emotions get the better of me.

"So," I said, stepping around Shay and walked towards the others. "What are the plans?" Nobody said anything. They were all scared to death of me. "Don't everyone speak at once."

Bryn piped up; which surprised me. "We're planning on going after him this evening at about 6:00."

Okay, that was a little bit quicker than I expected, but I guess it was better to get this over with now rather than later. "Are you going to tell Lydia this time?" I asked, knowing what could happen if they didn't. "You know how she gets when people don't tell her things."

Adne furrowed her eyes. "You can't tell her, Calla. She would never allow this, especially so soon."

What! I can't believe that they were going to go behind Lydia's back again. Don't they remember what happened the last time? "Are you not afraid of her, then?"

Ande shook her head. "Of course not. She can't do anything to me. And besides, I'm not alone on this." She said, pointing to the others.

"They're only in on it because Ren is your brother. Do you think that they really care about this mission, if it weren't for that?"

"You're so mean, Calla!" She shouted. "How many more times are you going to do this to me? No!" She stomped her foot.

"No what?" I asked, slightly confused.

"No you can't come with us. This is my mission, Calla. Do you understand? I will not have you jeopardizing it again."

What did she mean again? I have never jeopardized a mission, unless she was talking about her father getting killed, but that was not my fault! I was not the only one involved in that mission and she knew it. "You're going a little too far, don't you think?" I asked.

She shook her head, just as Shay grabbed my arm, trying to pull me back. "No I'm not. I have every right to tell you no…Shay." She nodded at him.

No, what was Shay doing, taking their side again? Maybe I should choose Ren after all. Maybe Ren would actually be on my side. "Let go of me, Shay!" I shrieked.

Shay struggled to keep a firm grip on me, as he took me from the room. "I'm sorry Calla, but I have to do this."

I stopped walking, and Shay had to push me to keep me going. "Why?" I inquired as we came to some stairs and headed down them. "I thought you loved me. Or do you not care about me anymore?" I knew I was probably being a bit unfair.

"Calla!" Shay scolded. "You're the one who's always being unfair. I demand that you stop this nonsense at once!" he ordered, as we walked a little further down and eventually came to a dark, cold hallway.

Okay, now I was worried about where he was taking me. "Stop telling me what to do!" I fought back. "I have every right to go with them."

Shay nodded and opened a door. Wait a second, this was the dungeons! Why were we in the dungeons? Unless…No! it couldn't be. Shay would never do that to me. I did not deserve this treatment at all. I hadn't done anything wrong. "Shay, why are we in the dungeons?" My voice trembled, as he pushed me in, taking a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked a cell. It was dark enough to where I couldn't see anything. I hated when it was this dark.

"It's for your own protection." He whispered.

Protection? Why would I, Calla, need protection? "Come, on Shay. Seriously, this isn't funny. Let me go."

"You've defied a direct order." He told me. "I'm sorry."

Defied an order? What, because I wouldn't listen to him when he told me to stop with the nonsense? That was a little much, even for him.

Shay didn't say anything else, but simply shoved me in and pulled the cell door shut, locking it in the process. "Shay, please." I begged. "It's dark in here." He knew I was slightly afraid of the dark (when I was in my human form, anyway).

"I'm sorry." He murmured, half-heartedly, as he briefly touched my hand as he turned to walk away.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Tears stung at my eyes, as I walked away from Calla, leaving her in the dark dungeon. I hated that I had to do that, but I didn't have a choice. It was what Adne wanted. And for some reason, I couldn't say no to her. It was almost like she was placing me under some sort of spell, making it so I had to obey her every word.

Who knows, maybe she was. Maybe, she had more powers that I wasn't aware of. I mean, I hadn't even known that she was telepathic until she sent her thoughts into my mind; which really freaked me out. This world was become different then what I was brought up to believe.

Before I became a guardian, I had never even heard of them, or searchers for that matter. Of course, I had read about werewolves in stories, but never in a million years, would I have expected any of those myths to be true. Though according to Calla, we weren't werewolves. Honestly, I didn't see the difference between werewolves and guardians except that we could transform at any time that we wanted. We didn't need a full moon for that.

But enough about that. My mission right now, was to bring Ren back—stupid Ren. Oh I was dreading to have to bring him with us, but I had no choice. Part of the reason I put Calla in the dungeon, was because I didn't want her running off to him; which I knew she would, as soon as she saw him. Call me mean or selfish even, but I didn't care.

I could still hear her panicked screams ringing through my ears, as I reentered the commons area. "Shay?" Bryn whispered, standing up to come over to me. "Was that really necessary? We could hear her screaming all the way in here."

Well that would make sense, seeing as the dungeons were right below us. "I'm sorry." I mouthed to her, unable to say anything else.

"Yes," Adne cut in, speaking for me. "It was necessary. You think I want her ruining everything?"

"Aren't you being a bit dramatic?" Bryn asked.

"Oh am I?" Adne questioned. "Haven't you seen how she acts and talks about Ren? She would only get in the way, and we could lose—again. I simply can't let that happen."

"I know how she feels about Ren, but I've also known her my whole life. Calla is a fabulous fighter. You should know that by now. She's better than anyone I know, and anyone here in this academy. She could be a great asset for us." Bryn defended Calla.

"Maybe she could," Adne said, dryly. "But I can't take that chance. Now, are you fit to fight, or do you need to stay behind, too?"

"No, I'm fit." She mumbled. "But can I go see Calla, first? I'll be quick, I promise."

Adne had to think about that for a moment, but finally she nodded. "Okay, but we leave in two hours. Meet back up here and don't be late or else you will be left behind." She said firmly.

I had to give Adne some credit. She was tough, and definitely braver than I expected her to be. When I first met her, I didn't know what to think of her. She seemed more of a girly girl, but now, she was definitely more of a fighter, if you know what I mean. "Bryn." I called. "what are you doing?"

"Trust me, Shay. I'll be fine, I promise. I just want to talk to her. And as you said." She turned to Adne. "I won't be late."

XXX

There were no words to how I felt right now. What Shay had just done was wrong. There was no reason that she had to be locked up like that. So maybe Calla still had feelings for Ren, but that doesn't make her a bad person. In my opinion, it was okay to love more than one person at a time. Though for me, I only had eyes for one—Ansel. If I was lucky, I would get to see him down there, too. No matter how much I begged, Lydia refused to release him. It was like they were all terrified he would do something else.

I couldn't believe that Shay would actually drag Calla down to the dungeons. It did not seem like something that Shay would do at all. I had a feeling that something bad was going on, but I tried not to think about it.

Shay tried following me down to the dungeons, but I was a big girl. I didn't need looking after. "Leave me alone, Shay. Go back upstairs and finish making plans with Adne and the others."

"Come on, what are you really doing?" He asked.

"I don't have to tell you everything." I snarled at him.

"Actually," He sneezed, suddenly. "You do. Or have you already forgotten?"

"But just because you're head alpha now, doesn't mean that you have to be in everyone's business all the time. And for your information—you have to promise me that you won't ever tell Calla this—I'm not really going down to see her. I'm going to see Ansel. I miss being able to snuggle up on the sofa with him on a rainy night. I miss watching horror movies with him, so can't you imagine how I'm feeling right now? That's why I want to be left alone. Please, Shay?"

Okay, so I made most of that up. Was it such a crime to do that? Yeah I did miss spending time alone with Ansel, but I hated horror movies—I wasn't sure if Shay was aware of that or not, hopefully he was—though Ansel loved them. He tried making me watch one once with him, but we only got about halfway through the movie before I made him turn it off and turn the lights back on. I had nightmares for a week after that. Ansel laughed at me for a long time after that, though I didn't find it very funny.

Hopefully Shay bought the story; it seemed real enough that it could be true. Though the look on his face wasn't very promising. "You better be telling me the truth, Bryn."

"Shay, come on. Have you ever known me to lie to you?" Except maybe now of course, but we weren't going to let him know that.

He paused to think about it for a moment. "You're right. I've known you for a long time, but I have never heard you lie. I don't think you're capable of lying. Even if you were, I have a feeling that you'd be a pretty bad liar."

Ha! Score one for me. Little did he know that I was actually a pro at lying. "Thank you." I murmured, as I turned to walk down the stairs.

"Don't be late." He called after me, but I barely heard him. Right now, I was just focusing on going to get Calla out of there—and Ansel, if I could—and to get her on that mission. She deserved to be a part of it. It wasn't fair for Adne to act this way.

And what was up with Shay lately? He was acting very strange. Most of the time, he appeared to have a glossy look in his eyes, like he wasn't all there. In all honest opinion, it was starting to freak me out—seeing him like that.

Okay, relax Bryn. Nothing is wrong. You're just jumping to conclusions. I thought to myself, as I finally made it to the dungeons. Ugh…it was so dark down here. Would it kill them to put some lights up in this place? It would make things easier, and safer for that matter. I think that, if I were down here all day with no lights, I would go crazy. "Calla?" I hissed into the darkness.

I heard clamoring behind the cell and heard rapid breathing. It sounded like she was scared stiff. I didn't blame her if she was. "Bryn, is that you?" She called.

"Yes, Calla. It's me. I'm so sorry about earlier. I hate it when we fight. Do you think you can ever forgive me?" Please, please forgive me. I didn't know how I would go on living, knowing that she could possibly hold a grudge on me for the rest of our lives.

"Of course, Bryn." She told me. "Do you know what's going on with Shay? He's acting so weird lately, don't you think? He would never do this for me if we were back home."

I shook my head and looked at her sadly. "No, but you're right. I've noticed it too. It's almost like he's being controlled by something."

I could feel her shuddering through the bars. "It's scary." She whispered. "Anyways, what's going on upstairs?" She inquired.

Nothing that she didn't already know about. "Nothing, they're just getting ready for tonight. And Calla, I promise this to you, that I'm going to get you out of here no matter what the cost may be. You deserve to go on that mission."

"But Bryn, They'll never let me go, Adne especially. And they'd freak out if they knew that you broke me out. I can't let that happen to you."

"Stop it, Calla. I don't care about what anyone else thinks. If they get mad, they can deal with it and throw me in there with you for all I care. I'm not leaving you behind."

It was true; I didn't care what the others would think of me. If they threw me because I broke Calla out, then so be it. I wasn't afraid of them. Let them think what they wanted to of me.

"Bryn, is that you?" I heard a voice call out. Ansel! My heart raced at the sound of his voice. It was crazy how in love with him I was. My heart ached for him.

"Ansel!" I shrieked, ignoring Calla for the time being, to see him. I wished I could crawl through those bars and give him a hug.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Bryn, oh sweet Bryn!" Ansel sang, as he realized that she was in the room with us. Okay that was going to be disgusting. Couldn't they tell that I was in here too? I did not want to hear them talking like that.

"Hey guys, I'd rather not hear that disgusting, lovey-dovey talk. I think I'm going to be sick." I told them.

"It's not disgusting." Bryn chuckled, with a shake of her head. "And really, how can you say anything? You do it with Shay all the time." She giggled.

"I do not!" I argued. At least not in front of everybody. Whenever Shay and I made out, I made sure that we were alone. The others didn't need to see that. And I'm pretty sure that they were grateful of me for doing that.

"Yes, you do, but it's okay. I still love you." Well that was good to know. I was getting worried when we were upstairs.

"Sorry, sis." Ansel replied. "What are you doing locked up down here anyway?" Didn't he hear? Shay had a new best friend, possibly girlfriend. Okay, so maybe I was being a bit biased, but Shay had continued to pick her side. I can't help the way I feel.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Ansel let out a chuckle. "Ha! Try me. You know I've always been a good listener."

That was true, too. As long as I can remember, Ansel had always been there for me. Ready to lend an ear if one was needed; which actually, was quite often. He was a great listener, always so compassionate and willing to help at any time. Bryn was a lucky girl to have someone like him as a boyfriend. There weren't very many guys like that these days. I'm speaking from experience. Shay was a different kind of guy then Ansel. Shay was a great boyfriend, most of the time, but he wasn't good at listening. It was something I had to learn to cope with, but eventually, I got over it.

"It's Shay." I told him.

"What about Shay? Has he hurt you? If he has, he and I are going to have a serious chat when/if I get out of here. He's going to be sorry he laid a finger on you."

I laughed at that remark. He couldn't do much, seeing as he was in prison, but it was the thought that counts. Though there was nothing he could possibly do to Shay. Shay was a lot stronger then Ansel. I wasn't trying to be mean, but it was the truth. "Umm…You might have a slight problem." I told him.

Ansel laughed at me. "I wasn't talking about right now. I did say when I get out of here, did I not? If they ever do let me out of here. They have to know that I seriously didn't know what I was doing back there. You have no idea how it feels to be controlled by wraiths. It's the worst feeling in the world to have your body completely taken over.

I had to admit, that I did feel sorry for him. Before, he seemed so lost, sad and lifeless. But now, he seemed better—more at peace with himself. It didn't seem that he hated everything around him anymore. And at least he was talking to Bryn again. Before, he would refuse even to look at her. It took a very long time to convince him that he was a good person and that we all loved him, just the way he was—even if he could no longer become a guardian.

"You seem better, An." I told him.

"I'm some better." He nodded. "But there are times when I don't want anything to do with myself. And there are also times when I wish that Bryn wouldn't come down here. I wish that she didn't love me like she does. I don't deserve it."

Bryn scoffed at him. "And how many times do I have to tell you that I could care less what you think? I love you, An. You're stuck with me forever. Sorry to disappoint."

"You're too good for me. You deserve to be with somebody who is whole and whose not been ripped apart to shreds. I'm nothing anymore, Bryn."

Bryn slapped him on the side of his head. "Stop talking like that! You know that there will never be anyone else for me but you. You're my everything and you are so much more, Ansel Tor." She kissed him through the bars.

Okay, now I really think I was going to be sick. There was too much love in the air. "Okay guys, sorry to break up the party, but do you think you can tone it down a notch? You're making me nauseas." I gagged loudly.

"Sorry." Ansel apologized again. "Okay, enough about this. You were telling me about why you were down here, when we got sidetracked." He said, looking for the right word to use.

Sidetracked, more like love-struck. I thought, dryly. "Something weird is going on. It's like Shay is under some kind of spell and that Adne is the one who is casting it. I can't quite explain it." I shrugged.

"She's right." Bryn interrupted. "His eyes are always glossy and he's doing whatever Adne wants. I'm pretty sure that if she asked him to jump off a bridge, he'd do it with no questions asked."

"Wait, who's Adne again?" Ansel asked.

"She's a friend." She replied. "Well, more like an acquaintance." She added quickly, throwing me a side glance.

Go on; just say it like you mean it. So what if Adne is your friend, too. I had known that for quite a while now. I could really care less about who your friends were, as long as she wasn't replacing me. I don't know what I'd do without Bryn. I'd be pretty lost.

"She's Monroe's daughter." I explained. "He' the one who got killed when we brought you back. And can you believe that Ren is Adne's brother?"

"What?" Ansel asked, eyes widening in shock. I can't believe that no one had told him about Ren. "Ren has a sister? I suppose that no one could have told me about any of this?" He complained.

"I'm sorry." I apologized. "It's been kind of hectic up there." I told him truthfully, though was still a bit shocked that no one would inform him on what was happening here.

"Yeah, so I've heard." He whispered. "Rumors have even reached down here that you've gone a little uh crazy." He said, hesitantly.

What? How did he hear this? Whoever told him this was going to pay! I was not crazy. So what, I had a moment. People had little moments all the time, don't they? "Who told you this?" I longed to know, so that I could kick that person's ass.

"I don't know who it was. All I know is that they were searchers who were bringing me food. I don't think they knew that I was listening to their conversation, but I happened to hear some things."

"Well, whoever said those things are lying!" I spat. "I'm not crazy!"

"I'm just telling you what I heard. No need to get like that." He said.

Yeah, I guess I couldn't blame him, but I would have liked to think that he—seeing as he was my brother—would not take everything he hears to heart. He should have known by now that not every rumor that he hears is true. "Sorry, didn't mean to get all jumpy. It's just really driving me crazy, hearing people talk about me like that." Ansel eyed me up and down—my eyesight was getting better. "Okay, bad choice of words, but you know what I mean!"

Ansel broke into hysterical laughter as I said that. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh, but that was freaking hilarious."

"An!" Bryn whispered to him. "Leave her alone. She's had a rough time."

"She's had a rough time?" he scoffed. "Have you not heard about what happened to me? Wait, you were there, you should know!" he said angrily.

I suppose I should have been grateful for Bryn defending me, but Ansel was right. He's had a rougher time than I. "Come on, An." She cried. "Don't be like that. Do you even know that your sister was shot with an arrow and almost died? I barely was able to save her."

Ansel shot me a curious and worried look. "What? When did this happen? Are you okay?" He panicked, which was really sweet.

Of course I was okay. I was here, wasn't I? though—I know this will sound bad—there were times when I wished I was dead. Hopefully no one ever finds that out. "Relax, An. I'm fine. No need to worry about anything."

Ansel crossed his eyes. "You didn't answer my other question. What happened?"

"Stop yelling at her, An. It wasn't her fault. It was Ande's fault. She made her go back to Vail with her and Ren shot her.

"What? The bastard! But wait a minute, I'm confused." Uhoh here it comes. I thought. "Why are you going to back to get him? Didn't you bring him back, then?"

Bryn shook her head. "There were complications as you heard. Calla was more important. Adne had to get her back here as soon as she could. She was near dead when she got to us. It took every ounce of strength to save her, but we did—thankfully." Bryn turned to me. "I don't know what I'd do if we had lost you."

Okay, now Bryn was making me feel really guilty for wishing that I had died. She loved me more than I realized—more than I deserved, even. "Bryn." I whispered, reaching for her through the cold bars. I decided that when I got out of here, I was going to be a better person. I was going to stop wishing that I was dead and start living to the fullest. It was the least that I could do for Bryn.

"Don't start crying, Calla." Bryn murmured. "Or I will."

"Whatever." I sniffed. "I love you, you silly person."

Ansel cleared his throat, interrupting us. Was it bad that I had already forgotten that he was in the room with us? "I don't mean to interrupt, but hate to break it to you, Byn is my girlfriend—not yours."

"Shut up, An." He was ruining my moment.

"Yeah, shut up, An." Bryn repeated, as she reached through the bars and gave me a hug as best as she could.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Okay, enough of this for now." I told them. We needed to act fast. We had less than an hour before everybody left. I had to try and get Calla and Ansel out, though I don't know what good Ansel would be right now—seeing as he couldn't transform. I was going to get him out anyway. "Ansel," I said, turning to him. "Have you seen anybody put keys down, anywhere?"

Ansel looked at me like I was stupid. Okay maybe I was, but I had to ask. If there were keys lying around somewhere, I was going to find them. "Really, Bryn?" He asked. "Haven't you noticed that there aren't any lights on down here? Even if there were, I'm pretty sure that the guards wouldn't place the keys where I, or somebody else, could find them so easily."

"Fine." I told him. I was just curious. We'd use something else. Something like a hairpin, yes! The only thing was, I didn't wear hairpins. My hair was too thin for anything like that. I turned back to Calla. "Okay, I know you use hairpins. Do you have any in your hair?" Please, please, please be wearing at least one. It would make breaking out so much easier if we had something to actually go by.

Calla raised her arm and pulled out a brown hair pin, making her gorgeous blond hair cascade down to her shoulders. Man I was jealous of her. She was so beautiful. I was nothing compared to her, even if Ansel told me I was. I never believed him. How could I, when his gorgeous sister was always standing right next to us whenever he said that.

I carefully took the hairpin from Calla, afraid that I might accidently drop it. Then it would be near impossible to find it in the dark. "Thank you." I murmured, as I stuck the hairpin in the lock.

Okay, how did they do this in movies? Just twist and it should click open, right? Of course, I would not be so lucky. Only in movies would it work like that. Well they should have at least mentioned that it only worked in movies. "Damn it." I said, loudly as I felt the hairpin snap in half in my hand. No, no, no, no, this could not be happening.

"What's wrong?" Calla asked, as she heard me cussing.

Did I tell her that there was no hope? Could I do that to her? Maybe I should just lie, and tell her that my finger just slipped. I was good at lying; I'd already proven that today. Maybe she would believe me like Shay had. Oh I was at a war with myself as to what I should do.

"Bryn, what happened?" She asked again, slightly beginning to panic.

"The damn hairpin broke." I decided to tell her the truth. The truth was always better than a lie. Nothing ever good came out of telling one. "Do you have another one by any chance?"

She crossed her eyes and shook her head. "Funny, Bryn. That was the only one I brought with me here. Great, now how am I going to keep my hair out of my face when I fight?" She asked, more so talking to herself than to me.

Now I felt bad for having to use her hairpin, but it was the only I could think of. I was going to have to try and find another one for her. Maybe Adne used them. Maybe I could borrow one from her without her knowing. Okay, so technically, that would be steeling, but whatever. "I'm sorry." I whispered to her, disposing half of the hairpin onto the ground and sticking the other end in the lock to try again.

"Don't worry about it, Bryn." Calla told me. "It's just no use. You can go. You can at least fight this mission."

Hell no! I wasn't going to leave her behind. I'd already told her that. "No!" I shouted, perhaps a little too loudly.

I held my breath to make sure that no one from upstairs had heard me. When I realized they weren't coming down to see what all the commotion was, I released my breath. "I've told you once and I'm not telling you again. I'm getting you the hell out of here!"

Okay, maybe the language was a little uncalled for, but if it got my point across to Calla, then I've done my job. "When did you start cussing?" She giggled, softly.

Since all this crap started happening. What were we doing here at the academy anyway? I wanted to go home. I missed home. But was it safe enough to go back to it? I could only hope. I would be so happy when this damn war was over. There I go again, running my mouth like an idiot. "I've been hanging around you a lot. I guess you've finally rubbed off on me."

Calla smiled widely as I said that. "That's my girl. I'm so proud of you. It's good to curse every now and again."

Well maybe it was for her, but I didn't like it. It wasn't a proper thing for a lady to do, in my opinion, and I didn't want anybody looking down on me because I cursed. That would make me sad. "Don't get too happy about it, because that was the only time you will ever hear it coming from my mouth."

"Maybe," She laughed. "But swearing is addictive. It's kind of like eating Pringles. Once you start the fun don't stop. You can't just eat one Pringle at a time. That is pretty much impossible."

Maybe that's how it was for her, but some of us weren't junk food junkies like others. I could control myself. It couldn't be that difficult to stop. "Okay, please don't use junk food analogies on me, you'll ruin me. You know how much I detest junk food."

"That's one thing I don't understand about you, Bryn. How can anyone hate junk food? I know you're a health food nut, but there has to be at least one kind of junk food that you like? I honestly don't know what I'd do without my junk food. Anyway, how can you stand eating only health food? Don't you get tired of it all the time? Though I swear I've seen you eating potato chips at my house before. And I consider potato chips to be junk food, so you can't say that you've never eaten junk food."

Okay, so how did we go from trying to break Calla and Ansel out, to talking about yucky junk food? Okay, maybe I had one potato chip at her house once, but it was just one! I was curious about why she liked them so much, so I tried one. They definitely weren't what I expected. They were too salty and greasy and just plain gross. They weren't something to brag on and on about like she did. "Nope, never eaten them." I lied, hoping she'd drop the subject. We did not need to be arguing over something as pathetically dim witted as potato chips—no siree.

Calla looked at me like she was going to argue with me. Please don't. I really do not need this right now. "Since you seem so set on telling me that, I'll let it slide, just this once." She smiled.

Thank you! Now we could focus on trying to get out of here. That's when I heard footsteps echoing through the hallway. Damn it! Maybe they had heard me after all and decided to come down and check on us. "I'm going to get you out of there right now." I hissed.

"Bryn, wait!" Calla replied, hearing the footsteps too. They were getting closer—crap! Come on come on come on! I chanted, as I struggled endlessly with the severed hairpin. It was no use, we were done for.

Stop that Bryn. I scolded myself. Don't think like that. You need to think positive. The footsteps were now behind the door, I could hear them twisting the door knob to enter the dungeon. Click! Sounded the door. My breathing slowed as the door pushed slowly open. Please don't be Shay. I prayed silently, hoping it wasn't so that I could attack the intruder without feeling guilty.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Calla grabbed me at the hem of my shirt to hold me back. "Bryn don't. What if it's Shay?" she breathed.

If it is then it is. I can't take that chance. There was a good possibility that whoever this person was, had a key. I could very well let this possibility slide right on by me. "I'm sorry, Calla." I hissed. As I slinked over to the door without them knowing, and waited behind it as the person stepped into the hall. Don't look to see who it is, that could cost me. Just take them out as quickly as you can.

The intruder paused for half a second, but that pause was all I needed to make my move. I threw myself at him and climbed onto his back, wrapping my hands around his pretty little neck. He didn't have any chance of fighting. I was too quick. My hands twisted his neck around and I heard it go pop. The intruder fell to the ground as I slid off his back.

Curiosity got the better of me. I had to find out who I had just killed—not knowing at the time that he wasn't actually dead. Please, don't be Shay. I prayed. I don't know how Calla would react to me killing her boyfriend. She would probably hate me for the rest of my life. That was not something I could live with.

Cautiously, I flipped the body over and stared into his face—which I found to be strikingly beautiful in the dark. I let out a sigh of relief as I realized that the intruder was not Shay. But then, another form of terror struck me. It may not have been Shay, but this was ten times worse! I just killed Connor!

Vomit threatened to spew out of my mouth, but there was nothing I could do to change what I had just done. This was a matter of life or death. I did what I had to do. "Bryn." I heard Calla call out into the darkness. "Who is it? Please don't tell me that it was Shay?

Well if she didn't want me to tell her, then why was she asking me? But anyway, lucky for her it wasn't. "Um…" I stammered, words failing me for the first time in years. How was I going to explain this to Adne or Lydia even? Calla had told me that Connor was her son. I was so dead.

Stop it Bryn. There is nothing you can do about this. Just search his body for keys. "It was Shay, wasn't it? That's why you won't answer me, right?" she asked.

"No." I managed to find my voice again. "it's not Shay. It's much, much worse than that."

"How can it be worse than Shay?" She inquired. Not now, I told myself. We could talk about this later.

My hands searched Connors overly priced clothes for a set of much coveted keys. I had almost given up hope when I felt something bulky in his shirt pocket. Definitely felt like something that could have been keys.

I prayed a prayer of thanks, after I pulled them from his pocket and quickly rushed to Calla's cell and started working on all the keys. Oh no, no, no. None of them seemed to fit in the lock. "Damn it! I yelled.

"Bryn, are you okay?" Ansel asked. That was the stupidest question that I had ever heard. No, I was not okay. I had just killed somebody. I was a murderer. I couldn't even say that I did it for self-defense. I think I was going to be sick. Maybe it would be better if Shay would throw me in the dungeon as well.

My legs seemed to have given out on me and I collapsed, out of disgust with myself, onto the ground. "Bryn!" Calla shouted, as she shook the cell door, trying to get out. "Don't you do that. Don't you dare quit on me. You promised that you would get me out. And what about Ansel? Or have you already forgotten about him?"

No, I haven't forgotten about him. I scoffed bitterly. And people break promises all the time, didn't they? Calla would just have to face the fact that I wasn't going to ever get her out of there. She might as well start trying to figure out another plan of escape. I was useless—done. "I'm sorry." I murmured.

"No!" Calla screeched. "Get back up off your ass. You don't get to do that, at least not today."

"Calla." Ansel said. "Don't talk like that to my girlfriend. Bryn honey?" he called, turning his attention to her.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." I mumbled.

"I know how you must be feeling." Calla told me, trying to cheer me up. Really, she knew how I was feeling? She hadn't just murdered someone.

"Really, Calla. You know how I'm feeling? That can't be possible. I just murdered someone, for crying out loud."

"Sweetheart, please talk to me." Ansel begged. Talk to him? Talk to him about what? About how I was a horrible girlfriend? I wish they'd all just leave me alone. I wish that I never came down here in the first place. If I hadn't, none of this would have ever happened. If I had just stayed up stairs, I would be an innocent woman right now. I could get sent to jail for this. I shuddered at the thought.

"Bryn, it's about time for you to head back up there." Calla reminded me. "They're going to leave soon. Do you want to be left behind?"

Funnily enough, I did. I didn't very much feel like fighting right now. My mind wasn't right. I felt that, if I went to go fight, I might not come back at all. What would that do to Calla and Ansel? No, it was better to just stay here, where I could be sure that I would live, at least for just a little while longer. "Forget it, Calla." I whispered.

"That's it?" She asked. "You're just going to give up like that? What happened to everything that you had told me about? You're just going to forget about it, pretend like you hadn't done anything? Very nice, Bryn." She scolded. "Would you like to be known from now on, as a coward?"

Oh she wouldn't dare! Weren't friends supposed to stick by your side and support every decision—even if it was a stupid one—no matter what? She wasn't being very supportive right now. "You know what, just forget it!" I shouted. I wasn't going to sit here and take this. If she wanted me to go fight, then I'd fight.

I stood up quickly and turned to leave. "Bryn, where are you going?" Calla asked.

"Going to fight." I replied. "It's what you wanted me to do, isn't it?"

Calla threw her hands in the air. "Of course, but you're not thinking clearly. You're upset. An, help me talk some sense into your girlfriend before she goes and gets herself killed?" I asked Ansel.

"Calla, you know she's not that stupid." Maybe I was, I didn't know. All I knew was that I wanted to fight now.

"I'll be back for you, I promise. There's nothing I can do right now."

Before I went upstairs, I decided it would be best if I hid Connor's body. I needed to hide it so that it was harder for someone to find. Connor wasn't the lightest person out there, and it was a struggle trying to drag him across the floor, but I managed to pull him into an empty cell and shut the door tightly behind me. I turned to make sure that he wasn't visible when someone came. Good, I couldn't see him, unless I looked really hard.

As soon as I had turned back around to leave, the door opened again. Crap, I hadn't heard anyone coming. Way to let your guard down, Bryn. I scolded myself. It was Shay, I could tell immediately. Keep cool. I told myself. Pretend like nothing has happened.

"Bryn, what's taking so long?" Shay asked, not even bothering to say hey to Calla; which I thought was rude. If I were Shay, I would have rushed up towards Calla and make sure that she was okay. What a loser. I was really starting to not like him very much anymore. Hopefully, Calla was starting to realize that he wasn't all who we thought that he was. I hated to see her get hurt.

"Sorry." I murmured. "I was actually on my way up. Lost track of time. Is everyone ready to go?"

Shay nodded. "Yeah, Adne is just looking for Connor. She said she sent him down here to check on things. Have you seen him?" Oh crap! I was hoping that he wouldn't notice Connor missing right away. Just keep your nerve and relax your face. Hopefully it won't give anything away.

"No." I replied, praying that my voice wasn't giving me away. I was still feeling a bit shaky. "Are you sure that he came down here? I've been here all the time and haven't seen him."

"You're sure about that?" Shay asked, peeking around me. Don't look in the cell, don't look in the cell. "You're not lying to me are you, Bryn?"

Great, I was caught. There was no way that I was going to get out of this—alive. Okay, maybe I was being a bit dramatic. "No, you know that I would never lie to you." I told him, though it seemed that my whole day had been made up of nothing but lies, I hated lying so much. When will it ever end?

It was kind of funny, in a way. You know how Calla said that cussing was like eating a Pringle? Well for me, it seemed like lying was like that. I couldn't seem to lie just once. They kept coming one right after the other.

"I hope you're right. Anyway, they're ready to go. Adne sent me to go get you." Great, he was now Adne's puppet. Just what we needed right now. I'm pretty sure that he'd jump off a bridge if she asked him too.

Shay glanced around me one more time and crossed his eyes, but didn't do anything. He turned to leave but didn't get very far. Almost as soon as he turned, a loud moan sounded from the cell in which I had just left. No! I panicked. It couldn't be. Connor was supposed to be dead.

"What was that?" Shay asked, turning back around to face me. There was no way of hiding the fear I now felt.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

We were done for. I thought to myself, as Shay stared at Bryn. I could tell that she was trying to keep her nerve, but she was slowly losing it. She was beginning to tremble and I only hoped that Shay couldn't see her like I could.

Something seemed to have snapped inside of her after she attacked the intruder. I was worried that the intruder was going to be Shay because she was being so aloof, but I somehow believed her when she said that it wasn't him. Seeing Shay stand in front of her right then, made me relax and breathe easier. But then it made me curious as to who the body was.

"It was nothing." She whispered. "You're hearing things, because I sure didn't hear anything."

"No," Shay snapped. "I heard something. It sounded like a moan, like someone was in extreme agony."

This was not going so well. Shay had found out so quickly. I was expecting him to just leave. But no, the body had to make a sound. Apparently Bryn hadn't killed him; which for that I was glad. I really hated seeing her so distraught. It tore me up and I wished that there was something that I could to take it away. I wanted her normal again. That happy, bubbly, spunky Bryn that I had grown to love so much.

"It was me you heard." Ansel jumped in, coming to her rescue. Oh Ansel, please be careful. You don't need another reason for them to keep you locked up longer than you have to be. "I'm hungry. Nobody is feeding me down here and I would like some damn food. You can't starve me."

"That's not true; I've seen people come down here with food. You should be well fed. And it did not sound like you. Your voice is too low."

Nice try though, An. I thought bitterly to myself. He wasn't going to fall for it. "How do you know what I sound like when I moan? Have you ever heard me moan before? I think not!"

Ansel had a good point. Shay couldn't judge who it was just by the sound of something as simple as a moan. "Prove it." Shay challenged. "I want you to moan for me."

He can't be serious? Whatever happened to the sweet Shay that I loved so much? He was getting scary and I didn't like it. "No, you can't make me moan for you." Ansel objected.

"You people seem to all be forgetting who I am!" He shouted.

How can we forget, especially with him constantly screaming it at us? I'm not sure if he even realized that he was doing it anymore, but it was getting really annoying. He could stop at any time. I was even beginning to think that maybe I should break up with him. he wasn't the person that I thought he was.

"How can we forget, with you reminding us every five minutes?" Ansel complained, taking the words right from my mouth, "And actually, you seem to have forgotten, or maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm no longer a guardian. I don't have to follow your stupid rules anymore. I'm sick of them!" He spat.

Careful there, An. Too bad I wasn't telepathic like Adne. It would make things so much easier. "Watch yourself boy! You don't want to make me angry."

"Excuse me? Did you just call me a boy? I'm almost the same age as you, maybe a few months younger. You don't get to call me a boy! I'm every much a man as you are. In fact, I'm more of a man."

"Ansel!" I hissed at him, willing him to stop. He didn't need to be picking a fight with Shay—my supposed boyfriend. Dumping him was becoming much more appealing the more I thought about it. "That's enough."

Ansel turned to face me. His face was becoming bright red with anger. "No, Cal. I can't take it anymore. I am not someone who can be ordered around like some dog. It's got to stop and he's got to learn." He turned his attention back to Shay. "Don't like me yelling at you? Well you can do whatever you want to with me. It's not going to change how I feel."

"You think you're so special, don't you? I know you are all hiding something, and I'm going to find out what it is." He turned his attention to me. Finally acknowledging me for the first time since he came down here. "You'd tell me the truth, wouldn't you?"

Ha! After today, probably not. Anyway, I wasn't going to betray Ansel, my brother and Bryn, my best friend. I couldn't do that to them. What kind of person—alpha—would I be then? I shook my head at him. "There's nothing to tell. They're both telling you the truth." I lied. Today must be lying day. I couldn't wait for this day to end and a new one begin. This was definitely my worst day ever.

He shook his head. "I don't believe you! I don't have time for this right now, but when we get back from the fight, I'm going to come back down here and make you tell me."

Xxx

I knew that everyone was keeping something from me. I could tell by the looks on their faces, especially Bryn's. I wasn't going to pressure them into telling me right now, but I thought that I would leave them to think on it for awhile. "I'll leave everyone to think on it a bit, til I come back. Are you sure this is how you want things to be between us?" I asked, Calla. "Then so be it." I said bitterly, after she hadn't said anything.

I went back upstairs feeling depressed, but there was nothing I could do about it. Something clearly was wrong with me, but I didn't know what. All I knew is that I would never act this way toward Calla, or anyone for that matter, if we were back home. I guess you could say that I missed home, but there was no way that we could go back there right now. At least until we win the war. According to the others, if we bring Ren back, that would be possible—winning the war.

Adne was stalking the stairs when I made it back up to the commons area. It was like she was a cat, ready to pounce on her prey. "Did you find Connor?" She growled. There was no hello or how are you. All she seemed to care about was Connor.

I shook my head hesitantly, I was afraid of how she would react when I told her the news. "No, he wasn't down there." Of course, I couldn't know that for sure. I hadn't checked thoroughly enough.

She crossed her eyes in frustration. "Are you sure? I could have sworn that he never came back up after I sent him to go check on things."

"I didn't see him." I said truthfully. "Now come on, we have to get going We are already ten minutes behind schedule."

Adne folded her arms against her chest in a huff. "No! I'm not leaving without Connor." She said, stubbornly.

Oh she was so stubborn. "But you said it yourself that if anyone was late they would be left behind." I grumbled, as I glanced at the door, hoping that Bryn would come up.

"I don't care what I said. There are exceptions to every rule and Connor is an exception!" She shouted. So much for this mission going smoothly like I hoped it would. No, that ship seemed to have sailed long ago. I should have never gotten involved with Adne. She was such a control freak, but there was nothing I could do. I was pretty much screwed. I couldn't even tell Calla how sorry I was for acting like I had to her. It was like there was something that was keeping me from it.

"Aren't you being a bit selfish?" I asked, really hoping that Bryn would come up and interrupt us. I couldn't stand being around Adne much longer. The distraction would be much welcome.

"Selfish?" She snorted. "How am I being selfish?"

"I'm just saying, it wouldn't kill you to tone it down a notch. When I first met you, I thought you were the sweetest person I had ever met—aside from Calla of course. I don't know how Connor can stand you." I probably should have bit my tongue long ago, but the damage was already done. I couldn't take back what I had said, no matter how much I wanted to.

"No, don't stop." She said, leaning against the wall. It was almost like she was enjoying every word that I was saying, though I knew that couldn't be true. No one enjoyed being yelled at.

"You dig your claws so deep into someone that it is near impossible to get them out. Does it make you happy? Ordering everyone around like they're your puppets or something? It's a wonder you have a boyfriend. I don't see how anyone would want to be your friend, now knowing how you really are." I could tell that I hit a mark, cause I could tell that she was fighting back tears. Good, maybe this would teach her a lesson.

"How dare you!" She said with a stomp of her foot. "You don't know anything about me or how hard a life I've had.

Adne, have a hard life? That doesn't seem very likely. "How have you had a hard life? You've lived here at the academy your whole life." Okay, I didn't know that for certain, but whatever.

She crossed her eyes angrily at me. "Like I just said, you don't know anything about me. I have had a harder life than you can ever imagine."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

That still didn't seem very likely, no matter how many times she told me that. "Would you care to explain to me then?" I was curious as to what she considered a hard life to be.

Adne sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs with a huff. I remained standing, but rested my head lightly on the corner of the wall. "Have you any idea what it's like to have a father who barely noticed you? Or do you have any idea how it feels to have to move at least twice a year—until we came here that is—never being able to make friends for fear that once you made them, you'd end up leaving right away. I grew up always fearing what was going to happen to me. My father was hardly around and I didn't even have a mother."

Well, at lease she had a father. I didn't have parents. She was lucky. You don't know how much I wanted a father—or a mother. "You think that's hard?" I scoffed. "Try living in a huge house by yourself, most of the time. You're lucky you had a father. I can't tell you how many times I wished I had parents. I guess I just wasn't lucky in that department."

Adne's eyes widened out of shock. Apparently she hadn't known that I grew up without any parents. "But why didn't you tell me any of this before?"

Like she would have acted any kinder towards me if I had told her? "Would it really have made a difference if I had?"

"Maybe." She shrugged. I could tell her mood was easing up a little and for that, I was grateful. "I can't believe that you were an orphan." She mumbled with a shake of her head and sad look in her eyes. "I'm sorry for how I've acted around you. I just can't be weak. I don't want people taking advantage of me."

And a simple apology was going to magically make things all better, just like that? No, it didn't work that way. She was going to have to prove it to me that she could be a nice person. "I'm afraid it doesn't get to work that way." I told her, slightly amused at her sudden change of emotion.

"What do you mean?" She asked, with a confused expression on her face.

Like she really had to ask. "You're not going to get off so easily. You're—" I didn't get any further than that, because just as I was about to say my next word, the door leading to the dungeon burst open. It was Bryn. I was beginning to wonder if she had changed her mind and decided not to join us after all. I wouldn't blame her if she did.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I late?" She looked back and forth between Adne and myself.

"Yes, but that's okay." Adne said sweetly. "We're running a bit behind schedule." She turned back to me. "Now what were you saying, dear?"

Dear? Okay, she was definitely trying way too hard now. "Oh, um never mind. We'll discuss this later." I really did not want Bryn getting involved in this. "Besides, as you just stated, we're late. The others are probably wondering what's happened to us. We better get going."

Adne frowned slightly. "Fine, but don't think I'm done with you. We'll continue our little conversation when we get back."

Of course we would. Though I was hoping that she was going to get distracted from the fight and forget about it. I could only hope.

XXX

My mind was swimming rapidly, ever since the conversation I had just had with Shay. I can't believe that he would be so bold as to say something like that to me, especially after everything that I had done for him. I couldn't be what he told me I was. There was no way that I was like that. Was there? I didn't think so, but what did I know. And really, what did Shay know?

As I told him earlier, he didn't know a thing as to why I was the way I was. I had to grow up never knowing what was going to happen to me. I decided that when I was about sixteen, that I was going to do something about it. I wasn't going to live my life letting people control me, I would not have it.

My father was hardly ever in my life. He always seemed to be off on some mission. Rarely did he ever think about me, or put my needs first. He probably wouldn't have remembered my 16th birthday if hadn't mentioned to it to him right before he left to go on a mission.

FLASHBACK

We were in a small shack at time, just the two of us, though I rarely ever saw him. he was about to go on another mission when I confronted him. "Do you have to go again, daddy?" I asked, sad to think that he'd have to leave on my birthday; though he hadn't even wished me a happy birthday. It was like he had completely forgotten.

"Yes, Adne, I must. This is how we make our living. How many times must I tell you this? We'd be living on the streets if it weren't for this job."

I knew of what he did and I wouldn't by any means consider that a job. He killed people for a living and I was constantly worried that he may never come home. "I know daddy, but it's my birthday. Can't you go tomorrow instead?"

"Go tomorrow instead?" He scoffed at me. "And possibly lose my job because you want me to stay home for you birthday? That is the silliest question that I've ever heard." Yeah maybe it was. But a girl could dream couldn't she? Wasn't it okay for someone to want her father home for her birthday? Nothing wrong with that; though according to my father there was. "Maybe we should put you out on the field and make the living while I stay home. Would you like that?" He wasn't being very fair.

"No, sir." I murmured.

"I didn't think so. Now, can you be a good girl and stop asking me ridiculous questions? You should bite your tongue and learn to think before you say things. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." I replied, on the verge of tears. Sometimes—though I know it was bad to feel this way—I absolutely loathed my father and wished I was born to a better family, one who actually loved me and remembered my birthdays. Don't tell anyone I said that.

"Good girl." He said, with a pat on my head. Though I didn't want him to touch me, so I shrank away from his pat.

"What's wrong?" he asked, realizing that I didn't want him touching me.

"Oh so you want to talk to me now? We can talk about how I'm feeling, but never about my birthdays? Very nice, daddy. Just go, okay!" I shouted as I stepped around him, or well tried to, but didn't get very far because he blocked me.

"Fine, you want to talk let's talk. What's on your mind, honey?"

Honey? Now he was trying to be all sweet with me. I don't think so. "Honey?" I questioned angrily. "You never call me honey. Ever since mom died you've been ignoring me. You'd rather go "work" then be with your only child. Well I'm sick of it. I'm moving out as soon as I can. I hate you!" I spat in his face.

Apparently my father didn't appreciate that very much. He slapped me hard on the cheek as soon as those words left my mouth. I didn't regret saying them. I had been longing to say that to his face as long as I can remember. I had even practiced saying them over and over again in my head. I just never expected him to strike me. My father had never hit me before and I didn't like it. Of course what child would like having their own father strike them?

I slinked back to the doorway, trying desperately to get away from him. "You just him me." I whimpered, still slightly in shock.

"Adne, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. You have to know that I would never hurt you."

Well it was a little too late for that. He had had already hurt me, more than words can describe. This made me loath my father even more than I already did. I had to get out of here.

"Where are you going, Adne? Come back here this very moment!" he shouted, as I left the house. "I'm warning you, you better get home or—"

"Or what, you going to hit me again? No, I'm not going to wait around for that Goodbye father!" I shouted as I turned and ran from the house. I knew that I was probably being a bit unfair, but I didn't care. My father didn't have any right to hit me like that.

END FLASHBACK

I ran for about three months. There were times when I would get so hungry and lonely that I would come close to turning around and beg forgiveness from my father, but after the way I behaved I knew that I couldn't go back. Mother would have been so disappointed in me, if she were still alive.

I was hiding under a bridge and living under blankets, when somehow, my father caught up with me. I tried escaping from him; I didn't want to be around him. But no matter how hard I tried, he wouldn't let me leave.

He practically got on his knees and begged me for forgiveness saying that he never meant to hit me, and how sorry he was. It took me a long time to be able to forgive, him, but for some unknown reason—I think it was because my mother wouldn't have been happy if I held a grudge against my own father—I forgave him and took him back. We moved around a little bit after that, but my father managed to find this place and we've been living here for 3 years now.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I was still day dreaming when I noticed that someone was calling my name, trying to grab hold of my attention. I hadn't realized that I had even been crying. "Adne." I wasn't sure who was calling my name, but they were shaking my shoulders. "Adne, are you okay?"

My mind woke up from its short nap, and shook my head to clear my thoughts. "What, what happened?" I stupidly asked.

"We should be asking you that. You're crying. You stopped walking all of a sudden and wouldn't move. We were beginning to worry. Where'd you go?" Shay asked.

How come I hadn't realized that I was doing any of this? I must have looked and sounded really stupid. I can't believe that I was crying! I hate letting other people seeing me cry. It wasn't professional, in my opinion. "I'm sorry." I apologized hoping they'd drop the subject. "It won't happen again, I promise." I replied, ignoring Shay's question. I really did not want to talk about my father. It would no doubt bring back too many painful memories that I did not want relive.

"Nuhu," Shay said, shaking his head and placed a hand on my shoulder, which I immediately shrugged off. I hadn't forgotten that I was still mad at him for the accusations that he called against me. "We're talking about this whether you want to or not."

Dang it! Just let it go Shay, please! I begged to myself. For some reason it was just too painful. "Please, Shay." I begged. "Drop it for now, we're way behind schedule. It would take too long."

Shay seemed to be thinking about it for a minute, and while he was thinking about it I stared into his face. Shay, I decided, was actually strikingly handsome. I could see why Calla loved him. And I couldn't believe that I had been trying to control him. he didn't deserve that. I decided that I was going to try and be a better person. Hopefully, Shay would see me trying and forgive me, if he realized what I had been doing all along. I hated enemies and I definitely did not want to be enemies with Shay.

"Okay, but as you told me earlier, we're not finished. We will talk about this, okay?"

XXX

I can't believe that I was actually feeling sad for Adne. It had appeared that she had just revisited a memory or something and it looked like a sad one. I don't ever recall seeing Adne cry. It just didn't look right on her—crying I mean. What confused me, was that I got this sudden urge to want to touch her cheek and wipe away her tears. I knew I was with Calla, but there was something about her—when she was sad anyway, that drew me in.

It was weird, but I could also tell there was something different about me. I didn't feel like I was being controlled anymore. I had my mind back. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand reached for Adne's face. She shrank back a little, which for some reason, really upset me. It wasn't like I was going to hurt her or anything, and I wished that she would see that. My fingers brushed ever so gently against her cheek and I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Shay!" Bryn hissed at me. Clearly upset over what I had just done. Of course Bryn would be upset. "What are you doing? Are you forgetting that you're dating Calla, whom you just locked up?"

What? Why didn't I remember doing that? I would never do that to Calla. "What are you talking about, Bryn?" I asked.

"I'm talking about your supposed girlfriend being locked up in a dungeon cell. What were you thinking?" She spat.

That was just it, I wasn't thinking. I hadn't a clue as to what I had been doing. "I'm sorry." I apologized.

"That's it?" Bryn grumbled. "All you're going to say is I'm sorry and nothing else? I'd—and I'm pretty sure that Calla would too—feel a lot better if you would actually do something about it, instead of just saying I'm sorry."

Bryn was getting out of her normal sweet zone. She was a feisty little thing, not someone you wanted to mess with. "Well, then, Bryn. Since you're so adamant about it, what do you propose that I do?" I asked, hoping that she'd give me a really good answer, but I had a feeling that she wasn't about to come up with anything.

"I don't know." She huffed. "Can we discuss this later? The others are wondering what's taking us so long." She noted, pointing straight ahead to where Mason, Neville, Sabine and a few other people, whom I did not know, were staring at us with questions on their faces.

"What happened?" Neville asked, looking at me. "We thought that maybe you guys had called of the mission and forgot to tell us."

I shook my head. "Sorry, we uh, ran into some complications." I flashed my eyes at Adne questioningly, who nodded in agreement.

"Sorry, it was my fault." She stated. "I was waiting for someone, but he never showed." Her eyes dropping. "We'll leave right away. Now, is everyone ready?" She asked.

Everyone nodded in unison, everyone but Bryn. "What's wrong Bryn?" I asked, trying to gain her trust again.

Bryn shook her head. "Nothing, really. I would just feel a lot better if Calla were going with us. She deserves to be here every much as the rest of us. Isn't there something that you can do, Shay?" She inquired. "You're head alpha, after all." She grinned.

I knew how Bryn was feeling, because I felt the exact same way. I wished so much that there was something we could do to get Calla to fight, but Adne would probably never allow it. I was glad that she remembered that I was head alpha, though, without me reminding her. I was beginning to think that no one cared about me anymore, including Calla. Yeah, I know, that's a stupid thing to think. "That's not up to me, Bryn and you know that." Oh how I wish it was, though.

"But that doesn't make any sense." She argued. "You're head alpha, Shay! You should be able to have some kind of say in the matter."

"I'm sorry, Bryn. I know that Calla is your best friend, but that doesn't matter. Just drop the subject, please." I begged.

Bryn crossed her eyes in frustration and it looked like she was going to argue, but she didn't; which for that, I was thankful. I knew that I was head alpha and I wished that because I was, there was something that I could have been able to do. But Adne was in charge of the situation. She was the one who got to decide what to do in the end.

"So, are we all done sulking yet?" Adne asked, taking charge. "We have to get this show on the road."

Bryn didn't say anything else, but stalked off to stand next to Neville, who platter her shoulder out of sympathy and whispered something into her ear. I couldn't quite hear what he said, which was unusual—seeing as my hearing was really good, but whatever he said must have been funny because Bryn cracked a smile.

"Right, then." Adne murmured. "Shay, do you have the ring?"

I nodded, hoping that Calla wouldn't notice that it was missing from her finger. I was able to sneak it off her finger without her noticing, so hopefully it was okay. "Yeah, right here." I pulled the gold ring out of my pocket and handed it, a little hesitantly, to Adne. I was slightly afraid of what she was going to do with it.

Adne smiled and took the ring, gently from my hand. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt it, I promise." Crap, I forgot that she could read minds. Stupid powers! Though I had to admit, it would be so freaking cool to be able to read minds aside from when we were in our wolf form.

I nodded grimly, and watched in awe of what Adne was now doing. She held the ring in one hand and placed it on the side of her head, near her temple, and closed her eyes. Adne began muttering quietly. I couldn't understand what she was saying though—it sounded like a different language, Latin maybe—and she began swaying back and forth. I tensed myself, ready to catch her if she should fall. I didn't need to worry though, for almost as soon as I thought that, she stopped swaying and her eyes snapped open. They were a little unclear at first, and I was wondering if she was really all there with us. One glance at the others and I could tell that they were all thinking the same thing. "Adne?" I whispered, curiously.

"I know where he is." She whispered, stepping forward, a little unstable. My instincts took over and I caught her before she toppled over. "Thank you." She murmured.

"Are you alright?" I asked, slightly worried that she wouldn't be able to fight. She was the whole reason we were going on this mission in the first place.

Adne nodded, she looked a little worn out, which confused me because whatever she had just done looked so easy. Apparently, it wasn't. "Yeah, just a little tired, but I'll be okay. We have to hurry because I don't know if he will stay in that same place for very long. He looked like he was about ready to leave." She explained.

"How do you do it?" I wondered.

"No time to explain." She said with a smile. "We have to go, now."

"But how?" I was curious. This was intriguing me.

"You'll see." She winked.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Just as Adne had said that, she raise both hands in the air and began waving them back and forth, between each other. It was like I was watching a waltz. Her movement was very beautiful and very precise. Before I knew what was happening, gold sparks were shooting out from her hands, and an archway soon appeared out of nowhere.

Adne stopped weaving her hands and placed one on her chest, taking a small step back. She was breathing hard and looked even more tired than before. "We're ready." She whispered.

I honestly did not like the look on her face. It looked like she was about to pass out at any moment. "That was very impressive." I told her and was rewarded with another smile."

"It's nothing. Okay, Neville, Mason, Bryn and Sabine, you guys go first."

Sabine wasn't very happy with the arrangement. "Why, so we can be the first ones to get killed? I don't think so."

"Sabine, it's not like that and you know it! We're going to be right behind you, I promise."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? I think not!"

"Sabine!" I scolded, taking a step forward.

"No, it's okay, Shay. I understand" Adne informed me. "Dallas, would you care to go first and show Sabine here how easy it is and that I mean her no harm?"

Dallas stepped forward and smiled sweetly at Sabine. "Of course, Adne. Anything for you, daughter of Monroe." Adne's eyes drooped at the mention of her dead father's name. "I'm sorry, Adne. I didn't mean to upset you. I keep forgetting." He apologized quickly.

"Don't worry, Dallas. No harm done. All is well. Do you mind?" she asked, immediately forgetting about her father, though I could tell that from the look in her eyes, she was now haunted. Dallas nodded and walked through the portal. He had vanished in front of us and I could tell that Sabine was still unsure of everything.

"See," Adne murmured. "It's not that bad, is it? Neville, Mason, would you care to go next?"

Neville nodded and winked at Bryn. "Wish me luck." He grinned, stepping through the portal, disappearing with Dallas.

Almost everyone, but Sabine, Bryn, Adne and myself had made it through the portal. Bryn was about to walk through, when someone came into the room. "What is going on here?" She shrieked. Great, it was Lydia. We were screwed, now. "Where do you think you are going, young lady?"

"Go, go, go, go!" She breathed at Bryn, who quickly slipped into the portal, unnoticed by Lydia. "Sabine." Adne hissed. "Go now!"

Sabine looked at me with wide eyes. "Come with me Shay. I'll feel a lot better, knowing that you're with me."

I grasped Sabine's hand, not in an affectionate way, but just to tell her that I understand where she's coming from and to tell her that everything is going to be okay. "I'll follow right behind. Go ahead. The other's are there waiting for you." I watched, as Sabine gave me one last longing glance before she stepped awkwardly through the portal, with a scared look on her face.

XXX

Great. Lydia had to catch us, just as we were almost all out of the portal. It would be just my luck to have things go south, even before we started fighting. At least everyone, but Shay and myself had made it through. Hopefully, this would be quick so that we could get this so back on the road.

"Are you really sneaking behind my back again, missy? And did you really believe that you could get away with this so easily, without me finding out? You're not as clever as you think you are."

Of course I should have known that she would have been keeping tabs on me. I didn't think that she would find out so soon, though. "You can't stop me, Lydia! This is my mission. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" Lydia questioned. "The last time you planned a mission you almost got someone killed."

That was not my fault! She couldn't blame somebody else's actions on me. Nobody knew what Ren was going to do. "You're not being fair! And that was not my fault!"

"Oh really?" Lydia asked. "How many people are you taking to their death? How did you manage to talk them all into it? Did you bribe them or something?"

Okay, Lydia was really starting to make me mad. She had no right accusing me of such things, especially when everyone wanted to come of their own free accord. "Shay, go ahead and go with the others. I'll follow along shortly." I didn't want him to see my darker side.

"I don't think so, Adne." Replied, Shay, completely ignoring my wishes. I guess he didn't want me alone with Lydia, which actually was really sweet when you thought about it.

"I insist." I begged, though I should have known that he would never have listened to me. "Please go."

"I'm staying with you, whether you like it or not." He said to me, then turning to Lydia. "Aren't you being a bit unfair?"

"Unfair?" Lydia shrieked. "How am I being unfair, boy?" She spoke the word boy with much venom.

"Well," he stammered. "For one, Adne is not forcing everyone to go, like you seem to think she is."

"Whatever makes you happy." She smirked. "Call of this mission at once!" She demanded.

Heck no! I was not going to call of this mission. That was not her call to make. "I think you may have forgotten one minor little detail." I shouted back at her. "You are not my mother; you have no right to tell me what to do."

"You also seem to have forgotten, that before your father died, he left me in charge of you. I am your legal guardian. So yes, I can tell you what to do." She growled at me.

Ugh…I had completely forgotten that my father had made her my guardian. What drove me mad, was that I was eighteen, almost nineteen, I did not need a guardian. I was old enough to make my own decisions, no matter how utterly and completely stupid they may be. "You also seem to forget that I'm almost nineteen, also known as an adult." I argued.

"If you want to be treated like an adult, then you need to stop acting like a child." She informed me.

Okay that was the last straw. I was done with her. She wasn't going to control me anymore. "Come on, Shay! Let's go. I'm done with this bitch!" So maybe it was mean to call her a bitch, right in front of her face, but she had it coming to her; especially if she had the nerve to call me a child—in front of Shay for that matter! My mind was made up. We were going to go fight. Lydia could do whatever the hell she wanted to with me, when we returned. It didn't matter to me. I wasn't afraid of her anymore.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I angrily grasped hold of Shay's hand and practically had to drag him through the portal. Are you alright?" He asked for the second time that evening.

No, I wasn't really alright, but I couldn't let him worry over me, especially when I needed his mind to be clear for the fight. "It doesn't matter how I'm feeling. We have to go get Ren, now." I told him, as I looked around, wondering where everyone was. It seemed as if everyone had vanished into thin air. Something was not right.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Shay, shakily.

Shay glanced around, eyes widening. He appeared to be just as curious as I was. "I don't know." He whispered. I could hear the terror in my voice, it matched my own. "They're supposed to be here, aren't they?"

I nodded at him. "Yes, I told them all to wait for me, before you came back upstairs. This does not feel right." Then I began to wonder if we were walking right into a trap. "Shay, you don't think—" I was cut off by a piercing scream.

XXX

The scream had burst my eardrum, or so it felt like it. Immediately, I could tell who the scream belonged to. It was Bryn. She sounded so terrified. I had to get to her, and fast. She needed my help, but where was she?

"Shay!" Adne stopped me. "Where do you think you're going? You could be walking into a trap."

Funnily enough, the thought crossed my mind. Was Bryn really hurt, or was she being forced to scream out? I couldn't take any chances. I had to go to her, even if Adne thought it was dangerous. "I'm sorry, Adne. This is Bryn we're talking about. Calla would never let me live it down if anything bad happened to her—Ansel either, for that matter. You should stay here, someone has to guard the door, right?" I didn't know much about portals, but I'm pretty sure that they were never left unguarded.

"How did you know that?" Adne asked. "I thought you didn't know anything about portals? At least, it seemed like you didn't back there."

She was right, but like I said, it wasn't very hard to figure that out. "It was just a lucky guess." I told her. "And the look on your face proves that my logic is correct. You can't leave a portal unguarded, can you?"

Adne crossed her eyes in frustration. "You are correct. We really need one more person here. I was going to have one of the others guard it, while I go fight. Well that's out of the question, now." She said dejectedly. "If only Lydia wasn't being such a douchebag. I'm really sorry that you had to see that. Can you see now, why I wanted you to leave earlier? I didn't want you to see me like that."

Was Adne just apologizing to me? Really, she wasn't that bad. I've seen girls get angry before and she was nothing compared to Calla or Bryn. If I wasn't dating Calla, I might actually consider dating Adne. She was just the kind of person who I pictured myself being with—strong willed, feisty, hot headed and so on. "It doesn't bother me any, honestly." I said, sincerely.

"Well it does me. Now go, save the others, but please, please please be careful." She begged me, as she gave me a tight hug.

Do you really think I wouldn't be careful? How do you think Calla would feel if something happened to me? I wasn't willing to do that to her. She didn't deserve that. I was strong and I knew how to handle myself, even if Adne didn't thinks so.

The one thing that bothered me was that I had no idea where we were. I didn't know how I was going to find the others. Oh this sucks, I thought bitterly.

Unsure of what to do, I did the best thing I knew how. I called out to Bryn, in hopes that she would hear me and respond. Please don't be hurt. I prayed silently. "Bryn!" I called. "Neville, Mason, Sabine!" I called each of their names to let them know that I hadn't forgotten about them—Sabine especially.

Poor Sabine. I thought sadly. I knew that she had been terrified to walk through the portal. She must have been out of her mind angry at me. Guilt was now eating me alive. I should have gone with her, but on the bright side of things, I would most likely be in trouble like the others. Really, it was a blessing in disguise. "Sabine!" I called louder. Maybe she hadn't heard me the first time. "Damnit, Sabine you answer me this very moment!"

As soon as I said that, I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye, making me jump. It was Bryn and she looked ever so scared. My instincts were to immediately run up to her. I had to know if she was okay. However, she shook her head frantically, with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" I inquired, freezing in my tracks. "Where is everyone?"

Bryn remained staring at me. "Don't come any closer." She managed to whisper, which I thought was weird, seeing as Bryn was never the type to hold anything back from me.

"Why not?" I asked, ignoring her frantic plea and took a step closer anyway. I could see the terror slowly forming in her eyes as I did that.

"Just stay where you are." She whimpered. "It's a trap, Shay." Like I hadn't figured that out already? I figured as much, but I wasn't going to let a trap stop me from saving her. "They were waiting for us. It was almost like they knew we were coming. We never stood a chance." She sobbed.

That was weird and did not seem right. How could something like this be possible? How had they known that we were planning a surprise attack today? The only plausible explanation to that question was that we had a snitch in the group. But who? I knew it couldn't have been a member of my pack. I trusted them too much. It had to have been Dallas or one of the others.

"Where are the others, Bryn? I asked, still annoyed at the thought of someone ratting us out. How could someone be that cruel? I just didn't understand it.

Her eyes drooped shut and I could see her shoulders bouncing up and down, like she was sobbing. Oh no, that couldn't be a good sign. "Sabine." She whispered words barely audible. Though thanks to my superb hearing, I was able to hear her perfectly well.

"What about Sabine?" I begged. Oh please, no, no, no! Bryn didn't answer me for several minutes, making me very agitated. "Damnit, Bryn! What happened to Sabine?" My guilt was eating me alive right about now.

Just as Bryn was getting ready to answer, two figures moved from behind the building, jumping behind Bryn. One of the men grabbed Bryn's shoulder. He had an evil grin on his face and I wanted nothing more than to wipe it right off. And he was touching Bryn. I was not in a good mood right now. "Sabine, was that her name? Well, I must say, She was delicious indeed." He smirked.

What did he mean delicious? Did he eat her, like cannibalism? Or drink her blood? My blood stopped cold and all color ran from my face, making me white as a ghost. "If you so much as lay one more finger on Bryn, you'll wish you were never born." I growled angrily.

"Ha! What a threat. Not like I haven't heard that one before. It gets old, the same threats day after day. Yet for some reason, nobody follows through with those threats. After all, I'm here aren't I?"

For now. I was very close to shifting forms and attacking him right then. However, Bryn was too close. I couldn't risk hurting her. Calla would really have me, then. "Step away from Bryn!" I ordered. He did not want to mess with me right now. I was in no condition to play nice.

"Bryn, is it?" He asked, running his fingers alongside her collar bone. I could see Bryn shiver. Personally, I too would have been terrified if I were in her place. "Beautiful name for such a beautiful face. I wonder if you taste as lovely as you look. Shall we find out?" he grinned, as he bent his head down, sticking his tongue out and licking her neck all the way up to her ear.

Bryn was crying uncontrollably now, and I didn't blame her one bit. This man was absolutely perverted and disgusting and he deserved to be killed for what he had done to Sabine; though I couldn't know for certain that he had done anything. But the way Bryn had acted earlier, suggests that he did. I wasn't going to let him kill anyone else, not on my watch –no siree.

"Touch her again, sir and you won't live to see what she tastes like. You'll be dead before you can swallow even an ounce of blood."

"More threats, I see. I highly doubt that you will carry them out. Am I right?"

No, he was not right! I was going to carry them out! I wasn't a whimp like everyone else apparently was. "You'll see." I winked, as I took a couple of steps closer. I wasn't able to get very far, because as soon as ugly saw me walking towards him, he tightened his grip on Bryn, and bared his teeth, which looked like—no, they couldn't be, fangs! It was not possible. There was no such thing as a vampire! They did not exist. Well, werewolves exist, so why couldn't they too? I thought curiously.

"Bryn, step away from him." I demanded, hoping that she would listen to me.

"Shay, I can't. You know that. He's holding on to me so tightly that he is hurting me. Please, help me, Shay!" she cried as if she were in agony.

How I wished I could, but every time that I took a step closer, he tried sinking his fangs into her poor neck. "I'm trying, Bryn. I promise you, this. I will get you out And when you do get free, you get back to Adne. Forget about Ren, I'll deal with him."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Maybe you're trying," The man holding onto Bryn snorted. "but I know you won't get very far." He said, taking a few steps back to where he came from, dragging Bryn along with him.

Okay, that was it! I was done being insulted by this person that I didn't even know. I did not have to stand idly by, taking his snide comments. No, instead of just making threats, I was going to start living them out. He wouldn't know what was coming, since he was so set on nobody ever following through with their threats. This was going to be a night that he would remember, or well maybe he'd rather forget it.

Deciding to heck with it, I changed into my wolf form, clearly surprising the two men. I had a feeling that they didn't know that we existed, judging by their expressions. I let out one loud growl, letting them know that I wasn't going to play their game and that I meant business.

"What's this?" The man holding Bryn asked. "A werewolf? But they don't exist!"

"We sir, are not werewolves! We're guardians! And as you can see, we do exist." Bryn corrected him, clearly annoyed by being called a werewolf. Though, I didn't blame the man for thinking we were. We did carry a certain family resemblance, after all. As Bryn said that, she bowed her head—like she was saying a prayer—and then thrust her head back, butting him in the forehead, causing the man to stumble backwards. I guess Bryn didn't like her being called a werewolf. You go girl! I thought excitedly, as I circled my way around them.

I barked at Bryn, hoping that she'd understand what I was trying to say. I could handle the fight just fine without her. "No, shay." She objected. "I'm staying. You need my help." Ha, not really. But whatever makes her happy.

"You can talk to each other?" The man asked.

Bryn's eyes sparkled in amusement at how little the man knew about us. "No, not while I'm human, I can just tell what he's trying to say."

Shut up, Bryn! I whined. You don't need to tell him everything. These are trait secrets! The more this guy knows, the more he will probably use against you. But of course, Bryn didn't know what I was trying to say. Oh this was frustrating.

The man's eyes widened. "But you can read his thoughts, though. If not human, then when you're in wolf form, am I correct?"

Don't answer him, don't answer him. I could only hope that Bryn would keep her mouth shut. "I can't tell you that." She replied. Good girl.

"And why not?" The man asked, as he grabbed hold of Bryn's arm and twisted it behind her back. I could tell that she was in agony.

Oh, no you don't! I thought, as I lunged myself at the man, but was knocked out of the way by the other guy who I forgot was with him.

"Thank you, Swanson." He said, picking Bryn back, up who had been knocked down to the ground.

"Any time, boss." Swanson replied, taking three steps towards me. "Want me to finish him off for you?"

"Swanson, what kind of question is that? Of course, finish him!" The boss grinned, winking evilly at me.

Swanson and I circled around each other, like we were performing some sort of dance. He managed to somehow get close enough to me to where he was able to wrap his arms around my neck and started squeezing. I don't think so! Killing me won't be that easy. I thought, as I twisted my neck out of his firm grasp and snapped at his arm, managing to take a chunk of it in the process.

"Ahh! Boss, please help me!" Swanson cried.

The boss shook his head in protest. "Sorry mate, but you're on your own on this. This is your fight. You can do it!" The boss cheered him on.

"No, I can't. He's too strong for me! I've never fought against werewolves before."

Guardians! I thought dryly. How long would it take for these people to understand that we were not werewolves! Oh this was getting annoying. I was done with Swanson. He was annoying me and I needed to finish him out, quickly. He would be one less person that I would have to deal with later. And yes, I was too strong for one man to try to fight me, two even. There was no way that they stood a chance against me. I had years of fighting.

"Just snap his neck, Swanson! Come on man, it can't be that hard. Do I really have to do everything?" He asked, walking towards us, pulling Bryn along with him. Snap my neck? I think not.

I managed to sneak out of Swanson's grasp and back away from him, without him knowing. Okay, Shay. Come on, just lunge forward and sink your teeth into him! it's no different than what he wanted to do to me.

Not wasting any more time, I circled around to the back of Swanson. He and the "boss" were still arguing over who was going to kill me. They didn't even notice what I was doing, which worked well to my advantage. Bryn, however, noticed and kept looking at me with questions in her eyes. I shook my head, hoping that she would look away. I didn't want Swanson—or the boss—to notice that she was watching me.

Thankfully, they didn't notice. I was able to pounce onto Swanson, sinking my razor sharp, guardian teeth into Swanson's neck. Forcing him to fall to the ground. One down, one to go. I thought happily. Okay "boss" you're next. I let my mouth fall into a lopsided grin, letting my tongue stick out lazily.

"No!" the boss shrieked, as he realized what I had just done. "You just killed my best mate!" he growled.

Well la de da! I mused to myself. Guess you're on your own now, huh? Come on, cowboy up and fight like a man! Or are you just to chicken? Oh how I wished that he could hear me.

"Change forms, mutt!" Bryn noticed his comment and looked nervously at me. "Fight me man to man! You're not being very fair."

Really? I thought I was being very fair. After all, he just sent his best mate after me. Though I did just kill him. I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to change forms. Though, I did feel a little more secure and safe in my wolf form. As a wolf, I was a better fighter, and all my senses were heightened, making fighting that much easier. Could I risk changing forms? What would it do to me or Bryn for that matter?

"Don't do it, Shay! I don't trust him." Bryn was worried, I could tell. I would still be able to protect her in my human form, right?

"Now, now there girly, I'm not all that bad of a person." He chuckled.

"Not a bad person?" She whined. "If you think you're such a good person, then why don't you let everyone, and I don't mean just Shay and myself, go? That might prove how good of a person you really are."

"Ah, but that my dear, is not something I can do."

"Why not? What have we ever done to you?" She challenged.

"Are you seriously asking me that question?" the boss asked. "Of course you have all done something. You have trespassed on private property, my property!" he said, crossing his eyes.

"We're sorry about that. We didn't know, honestly. Just please, let us go and we promise that we won't come back on your property ever again. I can guarantee that. That's one of the good things about me; I never ever break my promises!" She said, staring intently into his eyes.

Please be careful, Bryn. I can't let anything bad happen to you. I'd watch what you say, if I were you. "Well, that's kind of the thing. You see, I can't trust anyone. Including pretty little girls such as yourself." He smirked, stepping closer to her.

"Sir! I beg your pardon! Are you suggesting that I am a liar?" That was the good thing about Bryn, she never lied—that I knew of. Of course, I wasn't around Bryn every day, so I didn't know what she did when I wasn't around.

"Of course not, my dear! I was only saying that I don't—can't—trust anybody. I wouldn't even dream of calling such a pretty thing like yourself, a liar."

Bryn batter her eyelashes at him. Wait a minute; was she actually flirting with our enemy? No, she couldn't be. Unless, she was just playing a part. I could only hope that was the case. I didn't want to have to tell Ansel that his girlfriend had cheated on him. "Do you really think I'm pretty?" She asked.

The boss stepped closer to her, if that was even possible, and wrapped one hand around her back and cupping her chin with his other hand. "Of course! You are no doubt, one o f the most beautiful girls that I have ever laid eyes upon." He breathed, as he leaned in to kiss him.

"What's your name?" Bryn whispered, as she wrapped her hands around his neck. Oh Bryn, what are you doing? I began to panic that I really would have to tell Ansel that his girlfriend was a cheater. This could not be good.

"Ah, but lovely, that is a secret."

"Why? Can't a girl know the name of the guy whom she is about to kiss? I wouldn't be able to go on living with myself not knowing. That would just be pure torture. Please?" She begged.

"Oh alright. How can I say no to someone like you? You have to promise not to tell anyone." He told her, forgetting that I was still there. "A secret. Can you do that?"

Bryn nodded her head, perhaps just a little too enthusiastically. I suddenly realized that she was indeed just playing a part. "Of course." She said, sweetly. "I won't tell a soul, I promise."

"Okay, I trust you. My name is Daniel." He murmured, as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Daniel." She cooed. "Such a handsome name." She leaned in, like she was getting ready to kiss him, but she hovered right in front of his lips.

Daniel was getting agitated, that much I could tell. "Kiss me dear Bryn."

"I would rather rot!" She spat, as she twisted Daniel's neck.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

My jaw dropped to the ground, as I realized what had just happened. Bryn had just killed Daniel. "You're going to catch flies with your mouth hanging wide open like that. And don't look so surprised. I've killed people before. Oh by the way, it's safe. You can change back into your human form."

Deciding that she was right, I shifted forms. "what just happened?" I asked, still in shock.

"Oh, stop it Shay. I just killed a guy. Not that big of a deal." No, maybe not, but I just didn't see that coming. I was expecting to be the one to have to kill Daniel.

"You know, for a minute, I didn't know what to think. I thought you were about to betray us."

Bryn crossed her eyes in annoyance at me. "Really, betray my pack? That is the stupidest thing that I have ever heard in my entire life. You know that I would never do that, Shay. I can't believe that you would even suggest such a thing. That hurts."

Great, now I made her feel bad. "I'm sorry, Bryn! But can you really blame me for thinking that? I mean, after all, you were about to kiss the enemy." I tried explaining myself, hoping that she would understand where I was coming from.

"Shay," she scoffed. "I was only playing a part."

"Okay, I believe you. I'm sorry for suggesting such a thing. I was getting ready to come to your rescue if you needed it, but now I see I was wrong."

"Shay," Bryn said, placing her arm gently on my shoulder. "I know you were just watching out for me and I think it was really sweet. Thank you," she whispered, giving me a peck on the cheek; which made me blush slightly.

What was it we me and women lately? It was like I had never noticed them in my life, before today. I wish they would really stop making me feel this way. Self conscious and all giddy. It was like I was a little boy again. In a way, it felt nice to feel like that again, but I knew it couldn't last. After all, I was with Calla. She and she alone was my girlfriend. There was no one else. I just had to stop noticing other girls and that feeling would go away, right? Oh why was I feeling this way? Calla was supposed to make me feel like this, yet for some reason, she didn't. I did not like that. I was going to have to do something about that when I got back to the academy.

"What's wrong, Shay? You seem upset." Bryn questioned. Of course I was upset. I was upset because I wanted to kiss her. I had to get away from her as soon as possible.

"Oh, it's nothing. Bryn, remember what I told you earlier?"

"No," she shook her head. "What do you mean?"

"When I told you to go back to Adne after I got you out. I want you to go back to her now." Hopefully she wouldn't argue with me. She had to listen to me, because I was head alpha. I know I kept saying that a lot, but I had to keep reminding the others so that they wouldn't forget. That was one of my greatest fears in life.

"I don't think so, Shay," she said, with a stomp of her foot. "I just killed that man. You know you need me and there is no denying it. Stop being such a sexist," she told me. What a strange thing to say.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, clearing my throat awkwardly. "Sexist? What are you talking about? How am I being sexist?"

"Come on, Shay. Do I really have to spell it out for you? You don't like it when girls fight. You think that it should be just a man's job. That, in my book, is sexist."

Oh come off it, Bryn, So maybe I was. Men were stronger, better fighters than women. And we also didn't get hurt as easily or chicken out at the sight of blood. "That is not my point, Bryn!"

"Then what is?" She argued.

"I'm only trying to protect you. Do you really want to risk getting killed? Think of Calla and Ansel. What would that do to them?"

"It's my duty, Shay, and you know it. I have every much right as you do to fight. I'm a guardian, after all. I think I know how to handle myself. I'm sorry, but I can't go back to Adne. I'd only have to babysit her. You know that she'll get into all kinds of mischief—if she hasn't already. No, I'm staying here," she said boldly.

She had a good point, now that I took the time to think about it. She really was a good fighter, I could see that now, and realized how wrong I was before. And she was also right; she'd only have to take Adne's spot. No doubt that when Adne saw Bryn coming, Adne would rush off to join the fight. I couldn't do that to Bryn. Okay, enough chit chat, the other's lives were on the line and we still had to rescue Ren—stupid Ren. "You're right," I sighed.

"I am?" She squealed with delight.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I know that you can help us win. Now, we have to go find the others. Where are they, Bryn? Sabine, what happened to her?"

Bryn looked at me with a haunted look in her eyes. "The scoundrels! They, they raped Sabine right in front of us. There was nothing any of us could do to stop them, the bastards," she shouted. "Poor Sabine didn't even have a chance," She sobbed into her hands.

I feared the worst, though I know in Sabine's mind, being raped was probably the worst thing that could happen. "Is she dead, Bryn? No going around the bush. Tell me straight." I had to know for certain."

Bryn shrugged her shoulders. "I can't tell you that. You'll have to see for yourself."

What had I just said about not beating around the bush? Bryn was doing just that. She was hiding something and I knew it! "Bryn, tell me the truth. I have to know." I prepared myself for the worst.

"I'm telling you the truth, Shay. I don't know if she's dead or not. They heard you calling for me and pushed me out to where you'd spot me so easily."

Okay, I believed her, but that still didn't make things any easier. I wasn't going to relax until I knew for certain whether or not Sabine was still alive. She had to be alive. I think I'd know, in my heart, if a member of my pack was gone. "Alright, just take me to the others, Bryn. We have to get them out of here and get Ren, before anything else happens."

Bryn nodded in agreement and followed slowly behind me. I knew that she was thinking about Sabine, because she still had that haunted faraway look in her eyes. I wished that there was something I that I could have said or done to make her feel better. But I wasn't very practiced in that area. Knowing me, I would just probably end up making things worse. She didn't need that right now. No, I was better off just keeping quiet and to just be there, if she needed me. Though I know that she could handle herself.

We walked a little ways further, side by side, when we came to a sudden stop. "Bryn?" I asked, questioningly. Wondering why we had decided to take an unscheduled rest stop. We didn't have time for this.

"I don't understand," she whispered, looking around, as she started walking again.

"Understand what?" I asked, following close behind her.

"they, they all should be right here," she stammered. "Sabine was lying right here." She pointed, kneeling down to the ground.

Not knowing what else to do, I walked up towards Bryn and knelt down beside her, wrapping my arms around her Shoulders and rocked her back and forth, trying to comfort her as she sobbed freely. "Come on, Bryn We need to get going. We'll keep looking," I told her, wishing that we could just stay there for good. I honestly was getting sick of Ren and having to rescue him all the time.

Just as we were getting ready to stand up, someone came out, stepping right into my line of vision. Immediately, I could tell who it was, Sabine. I relaxed, knowing that she was alive. It set my heart at ease. I could breathe again, but then, something was not right. Something was different about Sabine and I didn't like it. I knew that she had just been raped, but that wasn't it. No this was something way worse than that.

After squinting my eyes for a better look, I began to notice something. Her eyes. They were no longer that chocolate brown anymore. No, they were much worse. Her eyes were a blood red. Oh no, I panicked. This was not happening. "Sabine," I called out, as she set her mouth in a sort of smile, though it was much worse than that.

She rushed towards us and began growling. "Sabine, No," I told her. "it's me, Shay and Bryn, your packmates." Sabine stopped for a minute, as if trying to register what I had just said. "Yes, your packmates. You remember us, don't you?"

Sabine walked forward, exposing her fangs and then stopped again. Bryn gasped when she spotted Sabine's fangs. "No! What did they do to you, Sabine?" She asked. "Please don't hurt us," Bryn begged as Sabine was practically on top of her.

**Sorry for the late chapter. I've been busy with work and haven't had much time to type them up. But I'll make it up to you guys, I promise. Reviews are always nice. Thanks for reading, enjoy.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Sabine! I order you to stop this nonsense," I ordered, hoping that would snap Sabine out of this silly tirade.

She paused for about half a second and a wicked, wicked smile played across her face. It was almost like she was enjoying watching me order her around, like she enjoyed taunting me. Come on Sabine! What's gotten into you? Stop scaring me. "Ha, ha, ha," she cackled. That laugh was definitely not Sabine. It was just so different. "Funny thing happened to me," she said. "I don't have to follow your orders anymore."

She was practically right on top of me now. Leaving Bryn alone, for the time being. One small push of her finger knocked me to the ground. What the? Sabine was not that strong. The look in her eyes definitely told me that she was enjoying this way more than she should have been. "I highly doubt that, Sabine. Or have you forgotten that anybody, and I don't just mean in my pack, has to obey a direct order from me."

"You, my friend, are sorely mistaken. You see, there are a certain few people in this world that don't apply to that rule. I am now one of those people," she said, showing off her fangs; which were dangerously close to my neck. I slowly tried backing away, without her noticing what I was doing.

"Scared, yet? She sneered, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"No," I lied, hoping that she wouldn't read into how scared I really was. I figured that I would be better pretending I wasn't afraid. Maybe I would live longer. I could only hope.

"Ha," she screeched. "You're lying. You wanna know how I can tell? Your heart rate sped up when you said that, and you're sweating."

Crap, so she knew right off the bat that I was lying. This was not boding well for me. Just keep your nerve and remain calm. No use giving her what she wanted. We had to reach through to her. We had to let her know that we weren't the threat and that we were her friends, even if she didn't think so. "Please, Sabin," I tried again. Hoping that she would listen the second time. "You know that we would never hurt you. I'm so very sorry about what Daniel did to you, but that is no excuse for how your attitude is. Stand down, Sabine. Now!"

"Shay," Bryn whispered, gently placing a reassuring hand on my arm. "Maybe we should back off for awhile. Do we really want to make her upset and give her more of a reason to want to kill us?" She asked, calmly. I was astonished at how calm Bryn was. She didn't seem scared at all—unlike me. I guess I really was a coward.

Bryn made a good point, but could I really back down that easily? I was never one to take no for an answer. "And let her control us? I don't think so, Bryn. I can't let that happen."

"is it really worth it, Shay?" She asked, cautiously watching Sabine; who was watching Bryn with a curious expression on her face.

"You really think you're something else, don't you? I remember that you always that that you were better than me," Sabine said to Bryn, with hate in her eyes. "Well, not anymore. I am so much better than you," she grinned.

Bryn looked hurt at Sabine's remark. "Sabine, I did not! I always regarded you as a sister, someone whom I could look up to and go talk to if I needed advice." Okay, I'm pretty sure that Bryn was making all that up. I don't ever recall her saying that. And judging by Sabine's expression neither did she.

"Really, Bryn? How long have you been rehearsing that speech?"

Bryn crossed her eyes and folded her arms against her chest. "How dare you! I have been the only one in the pack to try and make friends with you, but you went out of your way to shoot me down. It seems that you would rather want to be all alone than to have one good friend whom you could always count on. But no, you were too stubborn and hateful even. I don't know why I even deluded myself into thinking that you were my friend."

My heart was pounding rapidly, as I listened to the two bickering back and forth. I had a feeling that at any moment now, Sabine would lash out at us, killing us both. Who would become head alpha if I should die? I wondered. Who would look after my pack? Okay, knock it off, Shay. There will be no talk of dying, because no one is going to die. I was going to make sure of that.

"Well, perhaps if you actually came up to me and told me that in person, instead of thinking all that up, I might have considered your offer. But now, I'm not so sure," Sabine continued.

Bryn gasped loudly. "I did, several times. You're not in your right mind right now—not thinking clearly."

"Oh, no. I'm thinking very clearly. Actually, my mind has never been clearer—now that I know who I really am. I just wish this had happened to me sooner. I have never felt stronger." She said, flexing her arm muscles as if just to prove her point.

"And who are you really?" Bryn asked, her voice drenched in disdain.

"I think you already know the answer to that question—best friend."

Oh no. I had a feeling more of the cat fight was about to go on. I did not need this right now. These girls needed to be separated as far as possible from each other.

"Oh, come off it, Sabine. Now you're making fun of me. You decided to see how much fun it would be to play with my heart, right? Well, I for one have had enough of your rather rude remarks. And as far as I'm concerned, you can go rot in hell!"

"Bryn," I scolded, rather shocked at how she was treating Sabine; who was a newly made vampire. I'm pretty sure that you did not want to mess with one of those. They seemed like they would be more dangerous than older vampires. "That's enough," I demanded.

Bryn looked at me, like she was going to argue with me, but didn't; which surprised me and made me happy at the same time—happy that people still followed orders. I was beginning to wonder about that. "Sorry, Shay," she mumbled. "But can't you see how completely unfair she is being?"

"I know, "I said, patting her on the head. "But there is nothing I can do about it. You heard her, she's a vampire now. I can't tell her what to do." I explained.

"How right you are," Sabine replied, as she swung a piece of lumber at Bryn and hit her hard on the head; causing Bryn to fall to the ground.

"Bryn!" I shrieked, shaking her, trying to wake her up. "Sabine, come on. Drop that piece of lumber." I didn't know when she could have had the time to go get that, seeing as there wasn't any lumber around.

"And make it easier for you to attack me? I don't think so," she snarled, with a swing of the lumber, trying to hit me. My reactions were too quick for her. I managed to duck out of the way, right before she could wallop me on the head.

Sabine didn't appreciate that very much. She growled and cussed at me when she realized that she missed me. "Sabine, the language is a little uncalled for, don't you think? Why not try acting like a presentable young lady, huh?"

She crossed her eyes bitterly. "What for? There are no gentlemen around to try and impress."

Ouch! So maybe that hurt. I was indeed a gentleman, even if Sabine begged to differ. "Not in a good mood today, are you?" I inquired, though I knew what her response would most likely be.

"Finally seem to get it, huh?" she scoffed at my question. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd even notice."

"Of course I would," I replied, not sure of her meaning of that. "But don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?" I asked, hoping that question wouldn't come back to bite me in the butt.

"Dramatic, how so?"

"I don't know," I replied, a little unsure of how I was going to explain myself. "But don't you think that you're taking this vampire stuff a little too far and too seriously? Was knocking Bryn out really necessary?"

"Yes, you see, I couldn't let her very well get in the way," she smiled.

"Get in the way for what?" I asked, as I started to panic slightly. The look in Sabine's eyes was not a very promising look.

"For this," she sneered, as she rushed forward to where she had knocked me on the flat of my back and was kneeling on top of me. Sabine had her fangs sticking out and she lowered herself down to my neck. I could feel her warm breath as I struggled to break free.

"Sabine, please." I begged, hoping that she would let me go.

"I'm sorry, Shay. I have to do this. And don't struggle, struggling is pointless. It'll only make things hurt worse." Her mouth had closed around my neck and I could feel her fangs pressing into my skin. And I could also feel the warm trickle of blood flowing down my neck. This was it. I was going to die, I just knew it. I didn't even get the chance to tell Calla how sorry I was for doing what I did to her. Hopefully she would understand.

The next thing I knew, Sabine had collapsed on top of me. I was confused for a second and didn't know what had just happened. "Shay!" I heard someone screaming. I lifted my neck, quite painfully, and noticed it was Adne. Then, slowly, I realized that Sabine had just been killed. No!

"Sabine!" I cried, wanting to pull the arrow out of her. That I realized, was what killed her.

"Shay, she's dead. Come on."

I stayed where I was, unwilling to go with Adne. Concern for the portal and who was guarding it, didn't even cross my mind. "You just killed, Sabine," I scolded, still in shock.

"I know, I'm sorry. I was doing it for your protection. She was about to kill you or turn you into a vampire, herself. Either one, I reached you just in time." Adne reached into her blouse pocket and pulled out a white cloth and handed it to me. "Hold this against your neck."

Gingerly, I took the cloth from her, but didn't do anything. "It'll get ruined, Adne. I don't want to do that."

Adne let out a laugh. "Ha, you think that I care about some silly old rag? Your health is more important," she said.

Wanting nothing more than to please her, I placed the white cloth against my neck letting the red blood soak into it. Immediately, I could feel my neck begin to heal. Well, that is the weirdest thing I had ever experienced in my life. "How is this possible?" I asked, throwing the cloth—which wasn't even stained—on the ground.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a little tick that we like to keep on hand. Comes in handy sometimes. Fell any better?" She asked.

I nodded, still unsure of the whole thing. "Yeah, it was just a weird thing for me to experience."

Adne smile. "Always is for a first timer. Now, shall we get this show on the road? We're probably too late as it is," she frowned, completely ignoring the fact that Bryn was still lying unconscious on the ground. I wondered if the cloth would work on Bryn too. It wouldn't hurt to try.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"What are you doing?" Adne questioned, after watching me place the cloth on Bryn's head.

"What do you think I'm doing?" I replied, slightly annoyed that she had to even ask me that ridiculous question. And what was she doing still standing there? She could help me. It would be a lot easier seeing as I didn't know what I was doing. "Please, Adne. Tell me it works on her too?"

Adne glanced at Bryn, almost as if noticing her for the first time. "I don't think it works that way, Shay." She whispered. She didn't think it did; which made me believe that there was a small chance of hope that it might.

"Please, we have to try." I don't know why I was so worried. It wasn't like Bryn was actually dead. She was just unconscious.

"She's only unconscious, Shay. We can try to revive her with some smelling salts, or something similar," she suggested.

I nodded in agreement. "Do it." Adne nodded hesitantly, and reluctantly pulled the smelling salts, of sorts, out of her bag. "When did you have time to pack all of this?" I asked curiously, though partially amused.

"I always have everything on me should anything happen, say like this. Admit it; you would have died had I not come to your rescue."

Hardly, I was doing just fine without her. Okay, so maybe I was being a bit sarcastic. Of course, I wasn't going to admit, to a girl, that I needed rescuing. That was not ever supposed to happen, in my book anyways. "I was doing just fine," I told her, with a sharp nod of my head.

"Ha! Not likely, You were struggling and grateful that I came to your rescue. Admit it." There was a playful grin on her face and I was glad that at least someone was in a good mood.

"Never," I replied, shaking my head. I was about to tell her something else, when I heard a quiet moan coming from Bryn. Thank God she wasn't dead. I knew that she wasn't, but hearing her, at that moment, was rather comforting. "Oh, Bryn," I exclaimed, as she opened her eyes and tried to sit up, which I pushed her back down. She could have a concussion.

"What happened?" She inquired, rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand, and then moaned again.

I slowly backed away. It looked like she was about to be sick and I was not going to have her puking her brains out on me. "Sabine is what happened. She struck you on the head, remember?"

Bryn crossed her eyes, trying to remember, while she looked around, hoping to find Sabine no doubt. Her eyes spotted Sabine lying on the floor just a few feet from me. "What, no," she shrieked, again struggling to stand up, which of course, I wouldn't let her.

"Bryn, let her go. It had to be done." I told her. "She was going to kill you."

"Actually," Adne cut in. "she was going to kill Shay, and would have succeeded, had I not come to his rescue when I did," she said smugly. Oh come off it.

I shot her a warning look, telling her that she better watch herself, if she wanted to keep on living. After being bitten and nearly killed by a vampire, I was not in the mood for playing around. Hopefully, she would learn from the expressions I was shooting her. So far, it didn't look like it was working. I wonder what it would take to get it through to her, without worrying Bryn.

Bryn's eyes flashed angrily at Adne. And for a moment, I swore that Bryn's eyes changed to a dark black. I couldn't be certain though, because it all happened so fast. "You little bitch," Bryn shrieked, jumping up to her feet, against my many protests. "Tell me that is a lie," she shouted, throwing herself onto Adne, knocking them both to the ground from the force.

"Please, Bryn," I begged, grabbing on to her arm, trying to hold her back so that she wouldn't kill Adne, which I'm sure she would have gladly done, had I not stopped her. "We don't have time for this. And it was a necessity. I feel just as awful as you do, but we can't let that stop us. We're on a mission, and we're probably too late as it is. Unless we hurry, we can probably still catch him."

I knew that I wasn't being very sympathetic, considering that a member of my pack just died. And yes, I felt a terrible lost. Words cannot describe how I felt. "But you don't understand," Bryn protested. "Because you see, she was lying when she was saying all that before. We were actually really good friends. It was the vampire in her that was making her talk like that." She sobbed, bowing her head and put her hands against her forehead.

The only thing I could do, was place a comforting hand to her shoulder, letting her know that I was there for her, even though it probably didn't seem like it at the time. "Listen, Bryn. We can grieve for her later, and I promise you that I won't let her death go unnoticed. We'll come back for her and give her a proper funeral, when we get back to the academy." –if we get back to the academy, though I kept that part to myself. I didn't want to worry her anymore than she probably was. Hopefully, my story would set her at ease.

Bryn relaxed her grip on Adne, and I pulled her up to her feet. She swayed slightly, but I helped steady her before she fell over. She was in no condition to be fighting right now, but after everything that just happened, how could I refuse her to come along? "Thank you, Shay," she sniffed. "A proper funeral would be nice," she tried taking a small step forward, but still stumbled. This time, Adne was there to catch her. She was probably trying to get back into Bryn's good graces.

"You don't look so good," Adne noted, receiving a dirty look from Bryn. "Are you sure that you should be fighting?"

Bryn blew out a puff of air. I'm sure that she wanted to make some haughty remark to Adne, but she kept her cool. I was very proud of her for that. I didn't think that she was capable of doing something like that, though know I see how wrong I was. "Thank you for your concern, Adne, but I assure you that I am fine. "

"Well, the way you keep stumbling all over the place begs to differ. You probably have a concussion. How's your vision, blurry?" Adne asked.

"Why?" Bryn questioned.

"Well, if it is blurry, that means you definitely have a concussion and should indeed go back to the academy," she explained. "Are you tender on the back of your head?" she placed her hand lightly on the back of Bryn's head.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?" She shrieked.

"I didn't do anything," Adne argued. "But it's tender, right?"

"How could I tell when you slapped the back of my head?"

"Bryn," I scolded. "Adne did no such thing. She simply touched your head lightly. I watched her."

She crossed her eyes out of annoyance. "Well I'm sorry, but it sure felt like a slap. I guess it is a bit tender."

Concern swelled up in Adne's face. "Then you really should stay behind. We can't risk you getting hurt anymore than you already are. Your life is too precious for that."

Wow, I really didn't see that one coming. I guess Adne really did care about Bryn. This just proved it. And I'm glad she was the one to say that, because Bryn was more likely to listen to her, rather than me, even though I had more authority over her. "Adne, I know that you are just trying to help me, but I promise you that I will be fine. Shay, tell her I'll be fine. Or in fact, let me have some of your blood. It would heal me faster."

Maybe it would, but this was something that I was not going to condone. I know I changed my mind fast, but this was not something that I could condone. She'd be mad at me, but this was my final decision. "Bryn," I whispered. "I can't allow that to happen, I'm sorry. I know how badly you want to fight."

"Do you?" She hissed, walking away from me. "If that's the case, then let me fight. It's all I want to do. You need numbers and you know it."

That's true, but once we get the others free, we will be fine. "This is my final answer, Bryn, so stop trying to fight me. I'm not changing my mind. You will go back to the portal! That is an order." I barked. I knew that I was being a bit harsh, but it was the only way I knew how to get her to listen to me, without using force.

"You're not being very fair, Shay!" Of course I wasn't. I thought, dryly.

Adne then went up to Bryn and placed an arm around her shoulder. "It's not that bad, hon. You can guard the portal. If someone's trying to get through, you can have the honors of finishing them off. This is a huge responsibility," she said with a smile.

Wait a minute! If that was the case, then who was guarding the portal as we speak? And shouldn't she be worried about someone getting in? "Who's guarding the portal while you're here?" I inquired, slightly nervous that there would be trouble when we got back.

"Don't worry, I didn't leave it unguarded," she winked at me.

"What are you talking about? I thought everyone came out here with us?"

"Oh, they did. He's not human."

**Again, sorry for the late chapter. Been busy as a bee. Gonna try to get another one up for ya'll. Reviews are always nice **


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Not human? That couldn't be a good thing. If it wasn't human than how was it protecting the portal? "Wait a minute, Adne, I'm confused. How is that even possible?"

A smirk spread across Adne's face, causing dimples to show up; which I never really noticed before. "We have our secret weapon, everyone else has theirs. Except, I believe that ours is much more terrifying."

"Terrifying, how so?" Bryn asked, taking those words right out of my mouth.

"Oh, you'll see when you get there," she smirked. "His name is Ferrol, just to inform you. All you have to do is say no and go back Ferrol, he'll understand what you're trying to say to him."

Now I kind of wanted to be the one to go see this mysterious thing that was guarding the portal. I was curious, and by the look on Bryn's face, told me that she was too, as well as nervous. "Will…will it talk back to me?" She stuttered.

"Of course not silly, we're not that advanced. Just don't be frightened when you walk up to him. Frightened people just egg him on." Oh thanks for adding that, Adne. I winced. Now she really did look frightened.

"Thanks, that'll make me feel loads better," Bryn muttered.

"Sorry, was just trying to tell you how it was, not trying to frighten you."

"Well, it didn't work. I'm frightened. Now, how am I supposed to go back after learning that news?"

"You'll be fine, I promise. Now off you go," she shooed her off. Bryn hesitated at first, but after the stern look that I have her, she sulked off in the direction of the portal. Oh how, for Bryn's sake, I wished that everything would be okay when she arrived at the portal.

Once Bryn was out of ear shot, I turned my attention back to Adne, who still had a smirk on her face. "You wanna tell me what that was all about?"

She continued to smile, and nodded. "She'll get the surprise of her life, that's for sure"

"So, what exactly is guarding the portal? I know you said it wasn't a human, so that leaves some kind of animal, right?" Or a scarecrow or something like that. But the thing about scarecrows was that they didn't do a very good job protecting people. Yeah they were good at scaring crows off, but that was it.

Adne nodded. "Oh, it's an animal alright, beast really. They're very rare, so I hear. It's a three-headed dragon," she said happily.

I choked on some saliva that I had just swallowed. "I think I just heard you wrong. Did you just say a three-headed dragon?" I couldn't believe me ears! Oh, how I wanted to be there to see the look on Bryn's face when she sees it for the first time. Her expression would be priceless.

She nodded. "Yep, you heard me correctly. Our very own secret weapon," she winked.

When she said secret weapon earlier, I assumed that she was just joking, but now, I know that she actually meant it. "So will Bryn be okay by herself?"

"Oh yes, I told her what to do. If she listened to me, she'll be fine."

XXX

Oh I was so mad at Adne and Shay that I could spit, except I was a young lady and young ladies did not spit. I couldn't believe that Shay would just send me off like that. His only excuse was that Call would have his head if something bad happened to me; which I couldn't really blame him. If I were in Shay's position, I would probably do the same thing. I wouldn't want to lose my head. And Adne had to go scaring me with all that talk about who was guarding the portal. With my luck, it would be a really lard dog—or worse—and I hate, I mean hate, dogs!

My breathing slowed as I came up to the portal. I could hear loud panting and growling. Oh great, it was a dog! I thought. No, not a dog! I decided, as it came into view. This was much worse than that! Ande couldn't really expect me to do this, could she? How was I expected to cope with a dragon—three-headed dragon no less! Did she really expect me not to be frightened? I'm pretty sure that the dragon already sensed my fear.

Slowly, I crept up to the dragon, so that I wouldn't startle him. With my luck, the dragon would attack me before I had any chance of making any escape.

So far, the dragon seemed to be unaware of my presence, for the time being, which was a good thing. "Okay, nice dragon. I'm not going to hurt you," I muttered. What did Adne say it's name was? Something like Faramir, or Fargo, Ferrol! That's it! Okay, Ferrol, let's see how well you work with people. I will not be afraid, I thought bravely.

I circled my way around to the front of the dragon, where I could see better, though with three heads, it was a wonder that he didn't have eyes on the back of his head. Though who know, maybe he did and I just couldn't see them. Adne told me to tell him just to go and he would listen to me. The scary part was trying to get his attention only on me.

"Ferrol," I called out. Ferrol's middle head looked at me. "it's okay," I said, as Ferrol was getting ready to open his mouth. "I know you don't know me, but I'm a friend of Adne's, yes, you know here don't you? I know she sent you to guard the portal, but I am here now," Oh this was fantastic. I was reduced to talking to dragons. People would just eat me up, if they knew what I was doing. Good thing there weren't any people around. "So Ferrol, you can go. Go!" I ordered.

He growled, but nodded his head, after a moment. Ever so slowly, Ferrol backed away from me, never once breaking eye contact. Once the dragon was gone, I could relax and breathe easier now. Immediately, I set to work, watching the portal. If this was going to be my only job, then I was going to do it damn well. No one, and I mean no one, was going to get by me. Just you try.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Adne and I kept walking. I was sure that Adne was lost, but she kept assuring me that she knew where we were, even though she kept stopping every few minutes to look around. "Come on Adne, admit it, you're lost."

She shook her head defensively. "I am not. We should be there any moment. Aha," she exclaimed. "I told you we weren't lost."

I looked around my surroundings. The building that Adne was looking at was small, shack-like. For some reason, I just couldn't picture Ren staying in a shack. He seemed more like a mansion kind of guy. I guess you could say like me. "Are you sure," I asked "This doesn't look like the kind of place where Ren would stay."

"That's because he's not. He's here visiting a friend. I was worried about that earlier. I only hope that this friend wasn't home," she explained, as we stopped at the front door.

"Do we knock or just walk in?" I questioned. Not sure how they would react to someone barging in the house.

"Good question. I think it would be safer if we knock. We can pretend that we are sales people or something. I'll do the talking," she informed me.

Good, because with my luck, I would no doubt say something stupid and regret it later on. It was better this way, though most of the time, I hated when other people took charge. I was a leader, not a follower. "Okay." I replied, taking a few deep breathes to collect myself. I prayed that this went smoothly with no complications.

Wait a minute! I thought, all of a sudden. I could sense other people there. Neville, Mason. Oh crap, this could not be good. There were only two of us, and God knows how many of them. "Um, Adne," I started. "the others are in there."

"What?" she asked. "What are you talking about, how do you know?"

"Neville and Mason, I can sense them in there," I told her.

"Well, at least we know that's where they are and not dead like I feared."

"Oh that's very comforting," I scoffed at her remark.

"Sorry," she murmured, as she lifted her hand and knocked on the door lightly. "Remain calm," she breathed.

The door opened shortly after, and an old man with snowy white hair, balding in spots, appeared. Well that's good. At least he would be easy to take down—if it came down to it. "Yes, how may I help you?" He asked, looking at both me and Adne.

"Hi," Adne said, cheerfully. "I'm Sapphire, and this here is Dick," she started off. "We're going door to door, raising money for the recent victims of the hurricane that just went through. Would you have it in your heart to give a little, even if it's only ten dollars? You may not know this, but ten dollars actually goes a long way," she paused, waiting for some kind of reply. We were screwed if he said no.

The old man didn't respond for several minutes, but I could see his face filling with compassion, and then changing. "I'm sorry, children. I would love to help, but right now, I don't have the money. Thank you kindly," he nodded at us, as he started to close the door.

Adne was quick to step in. "Please, sir! Maybe there is someone else in your house that could help? We've come a long way and hate to go back home with nothing to show for our hard work."

He looked like he was going to argue, but he stepped back, holding the door open for us to come in. "Please, come in. Let me check," he said, as he turned to walk off.

"Renier, son. There are some very nice people at the door wondering if you would like to donate some money to help the latest hurricane victims."

"Uncle, you know how I feel about sales people. Tell them to bug off," Ren exclaimed.

"You know very well that I cannot do that. And besides, they're inside, waiting. They can hear every word you say."

"Uncle," Ren complained. "learn to think before you invite complete strangers in. I know you're old, but come on, use some common sense," he continued to complain.

"Is that how you talk to your elders, young man?" He fought back.

"Sorry, Uncle," he murmured, as he came into sight, and froze when he saw me. "Shay." He exclaimed, clearly shocked that we were there.

"Nephew, you're mistaken. This is Dick, not Shay."

A smirk spread across Ren's face. "The name suites you well," he laughed. "And who is this?" he asked, looking at Adne. "I think I've seen you before, you look familiar. I just can't put my finger on it."

Adne nodded. "Well, the last time you saw me, you nearly killed Calla."

Ren crossed his eyes in concentration. "Oh yes, you claimed that you were my sister. Uncle do you believe this girl? She comes marching right into my house—well it was supposed to be my house—and tells me that I have a sister. Ha!"

The old man nodded his head and rubbed his chin. "Actually, Ren. She is correct. Your father told me about your mother's affair, before he died. God rest his soul," he murmured, bowing his head, as if he was saying a little prayer.

"No," I will not believe it," Ren shouted. "Get out of my house!"

"Ren," the old man scolded. "That is no way to treat our guests."

"Uncle, they are hardly guests. They're imposters."

"Ren," Adne cut in. "I'm just doing what my father wanted me to do, before he passed away. Come on, you can make this either difficult or easy. It's up to you," she said, taking a step forward.

"Walk any closer and you'll be sorry," he shouted, pulling out a sword. "I'm pretty sure that you want your friends returned alive, am I right?"

"Nephew, you know how I feel about that," the old man interrupted.

"And I told you, it's none of your business old man."

"Watch your tone, boy! I let you live in my house. I expect you to treat me with respect. You don't like my rules, then you can pack your things and be on your way. Another thing, stop calling me old man! I know that I'm old. How can I forget with you reminding me every day? However, this old man has feelings and a name; which I think seems to have escaped your memory. My name is Uncle Charles and nothing else!"

It was a brave thing for the old man, or I should say Charles, to speak up for himself, considering it was Ren whom he was talking to. It was about time that someone gave Ren a good tongue-lashing.

"You wouldn't do that to me, uncle Charles would you?" He should be grateful that his uncle allowed him to stay in his own home.

"Then I should think that you would want to abide by my wishes," said Charles, who began swaying.

Immediately, I went up to catch him. "Are you alright, sir?" I asked. Charles held his hand against his chest.

"I'm alright, son. This old heart of mine just doesn't work the way it used to."

"Shall I call a doctor for you?" I offered.

"That's not necessary. I've seen many doctors, young Dick. They all tell me the same thing."

"If you're sure. And actually, I lied earlier, I'm sorry. My name is indeed Shay, like Ren said." Adne flashed me a warning look, and I shrugged my shoulders. I couldn't help myself. I couldn't lie to this man. There was just something about him.

A small sad look came into Charles' eyes, and I was now feeling guilty for even lying to him in the first place. "Oh, my dear boy," he frowned. But really, it wasn't my fault. After all, it was Adne who gave him the false name. Boy was I going to get her when we got out of here. Hopefully, that would be soon. I was tired and ready to go back. I almost called it home, but quickly caught myself.

"Uncle," Ren whispered. "Please, tell them to leave. They are not welcome here."

Charles flashed his eyes up at Ren. "As I told you earlier, this is my house and they are welcome here at any time they want. If you don't like it then you can leave."

My heart started pounding. I was sure that Ren was going to attack his uncle at any moment. I was ready to jump between them and protect Charles, if needed be. But to my astonishment, Ren sighed and stormed off into another room. But what surprised me even further, was that as soon as Ren stormed off, Adne quietly went after him.

"Forgive me," Charles spoke quietly.

"For what, sir? You haven't done anything wrong."

"Apparently, I haven't done anything right, either. Anyway, I'm sorry for my nephew's behavior. I don't know what's gotten into him lately. He used to be such a good boy."

Well, I know what happened to him. I happened to him. I snatched Call up from his grip. But I wasn't going to tell his uncle that. He would probably be mad at me for stealing his nephew's girlfriend, though I'm pretty sure that Calla was grateful for my coming to his rescue. And besides, he didn't need to know all the dirty little details. He would be grateful in the long run, if I just kept quiet.

"Sir, you have nothing to be sorry for. Ren and Ren alone is responsible for his own actions and you can't blame yourself. I've known Ren for a long time. This is how he treats everyone."

Charles sat down at the high stool, by the counter, rubbing his beard with his hand. "I wish my Ren were more like you," he said thoughtfully.

No, he didn't. I was nothing special. In fact, with everything that's happened lately, if anything, I was a horrible person. Just ask Calla or Bryn. "No you don't sir. I've been a horrible person lately. It wasn't until I came here that I wanted to try and change."

"Somehow my boy, I don't see you as being a horrible person. A little temperamental, but not horrible. Nothing wrong with being temperamental."

I was beginning to like this man more and more, almost wished that he were my uncle instead of Rens. Call me selfish, but I never had an uncle before. And Charles was the perfect uncle, in my opinion. Ren should definitely be grateful that he has an uncle like Charles, who cares a great deal for him It almost seemed as if Ren resented him, and I don't know how he could do that.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 27

I cautiously followed Ren into his room. He was upset and I was going to try and talk him into coming back with us, and let the others go. I didn't want to have to use force on him, but if it came down to it, then I would.

"What do you want?" Ren hissed at me, as he flopped onto his bed, not even glancing at me. It was a wonder that he even knew that I had followed him. He seemed so oblivious to everything.

"Ren, please. Come back with us. You're my brother; you have to know that I would never lie to you, or do anything to hurt you."

Ren sat up quickly on the bed, causing me to jump slightly. "Why, why is it so important that I come back with you?" He inquired. "I am nothing to you."

"Ren! How could you say that! I'm just following our father's wishes." It was hard for me to say our father, when I don't even know if he had even seen Renier since he was born. Then again, for all I knew, he could have gone to him on one of his missions—or many missions.

"He is not my father!" Ren spat. "I would not call him father, even if my life depended on it. He was no more a father to me than my own father was."

Okay, that hurt. I hated seeing Ren talk bad things about my father. Yes, he definitely was never father of the year, and he had said and done many things which I regretted, but he was still my father and I was not going to have people bashing him. "Don't talk about my father like that!"

"Then don't tell me you're my sister."

Well, see that was the funny thing about it. I was his sister, whether he chose to like it or not. There was nothing that I could do to change that. Carefully, I sat down on the edge of the bed, looking directly into his eyes. "Look at me, Ren." I said firmly. "I will not be treated like some horrible person. I'm sorry, but I am not giving up on you. I'm staying here as long as it takes to get you to realize that."

"Well then, you should have packed a suitcase, because you will be here for a very long time. I'm not leaving." We'll see about that. I smirked at myself.

I decided that I was going to let Ren think on it for a few minutes, so I got up and left the room. Curiosity got the better of me, so I took a tour of the house, by myself. It was surprisingly a rather large house compared to what it looked like on the outside. There were several rooms, which I was going to have to check in to find the others.

Sneakily, I checked the first door that came into my view. Thankfully, it appeared to be unlocked. Gently, I pushed the door slowly open and looked around. Nothing. It was a simple bedroom. There wasn't even a closet, just a small wardrobe. Definitely no way the others could be in here.

Dejectedly, I closed the bedroom door and continued walking down the rather long hallway and I came across a second door, shortly thereafter. To my dismay, the door was lock. It was weird that they would have some doors locked, but some unlocked. It just didn't make any sense. Thankfully, I knew how to force bedroom doors open. I had lots of practice, when I first came to the academy.

Not even thinking much of it, I twisted the door knob as hard as I could, at the same time as pushing the door. To my delight—though I had no doubt it my mind that it wouldn't—it worked. I was skilled in this. It never failed me.

Just like I did with the last room, I cautiously pushed open the door the rest of the way, and peeked in. What I saw shocked me. I had indeed found the others. (Of course they would have kept that door locked, and I'm sure that they wouldn't have suspected me to be a pro at unlocking doors without keys.) They were all sprawled out on the floor, crammed against each other. Their hands and feet were bound and they were gagged at the mouth.

Immediately, though I know it was probably wicked of me to do so, I ran to my own kind. Dallas was first, and I rushed to untie him. "Dallas," I shrieked, giving him a hug, causing him to wince and groan. "Dallas, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'll be alright. Get the others, I'll help." Not so fast! Dallas was in pain, that was obvious. I wasn't going to do anything or let him do anything, until he told me what was wrong.

"Not so fast, buster. You're in pain, don't try to hide it." Yes, I was going to play mommy. Wouldn't you, if someone, who was almost like family, was hurt?

"Relax, Adne. Or should I call you momma? It's just a few bruised ribs and maybe a broken shoulder. It's nothing to worry about."

Nothing to worry about? A few bruised ribs and a possibly broken shoulder was indeed something to worry about. He needed a hospital and shouldn't be moving about. "Sorry Dallas, but you're sitting on that bed and lying down."

"Really, Adne, it's not that big of a deal. I'll be fine," he objected.

"Get in bed right this minute! I will not have another word!"

A troubled look spread across Dallas' face. "Yes, mother," he replied as he gingerly climbed into the bed and lie down.

I cringed lightly at his witty remark and began helping to untie the others. "Thank you, Adne," Neville said, after I had untied him. "Is Sabine here with you?" There was a worried expression on his face and I could tell that he was very concerned for his former packmate. At first, I almost lied to him and told him that Sabine was alive and with Shay, but I couldn't do that, not to Neville.

Regrettably, I sighed and told him the truth, no matter how much I wanted to run and hide. "I'm sorry, Neville, but there was nothing that could have been done. They had turned her into a vampire and she in turn, turned on Shay and nearly killed him and Bryn. She would have succeeded had I not come rescue them when I did."

"You mean to tell us, that Sabine is dead?" He turned to Mason, who looked just as troubled and sad as he did. "Mason," he cried, rushing into Mason's arms.

It was a weird moment to experience. I had never been around gay people before, and you could very easily tell that Neville and Mason were gay. Though somehow, it didn't bother me any. In fact, it was really sweet, the way they cared about each other. If only all relationships were like that.

"Would you two go rent a room?" Dallas commented. "I'd rather not see two guys making out, that'll ruin me."

"You're already ruined, Dallas and you know it. In fact," Neville gave Mason a curious look, who nodded in return. "I'm pretty sure that you like kissing guys. Neville and Mason both casually advanced on Dallas, who slowly tried retreating as far away from them as he possibly could. There was a terrified look in Dallas' eyes that made me laugh. I mean, even I knew that Mason and Neville were just playing with him.

At least everyone seemed to be on good terms with each other and I wouldn't have to worry about anything. "Don't even think about it," Dallas warned. "You're going to be sorry."

"Oohhh I'm so scared. What're you gonna do, go tell mommy?" He pointed at me. Please, leave me out of this. You can have your fun and I won't even try to stop you, but don't get me involved with your silly games.

"Just get the hell away from me. Mason, get your gay lover away from me, now!" Okay, even I admit that was uncalled for. By the looks of it, Neville didn't appreciate it either.

Neville marched the rest of the way to Dallas, pulled his arm back and thrust it in Dallas' face. I cringed as I heard bones cracking in Dallas' nose and blood started spurting out.

"You little prick!" Dallas shouted.

Immediately, I rushed up to his side, mostly to try and stop him from attacking Neville. So much for everyone being on good terms. "Dallas," I scolded. "Don't you think that was a little uncalled for? I mean, you're an adult for crying out loud!"

"What, you're taking his side? Are you part of their gay love triangle?"

Another punch came from Neville, but I managed to stop him from hitting Dallas again. "Dallas! That's enough. I'm not choosing side, I'm just trying to act like the adult and keep you from trying to kill each other. I thought you were starting to get along with each other so well."

"Key word, thought." Dallas huffed, as he disgustingly, spat blood from his mouth onto the floor; which I really hoped he was going to clean up. This wasn't our house, after all.

"You're going to clean that up, aren't you?" I inquired.

Dallas shrugged. "Why should I?"

Didn't he have any manners? Or did his parents just not bother to teach him any? "Because, it's not our house, and it's the right thing to do. How could you even think of spitting blood on someone else's floor?"

"Gee, Neville was right. You really are beginning to act like my mother. Who died and made you boss?"

"Dallas, that's enough!" Clark, one of my best friends shouted. "She's just doing her job. There is no reason that you should be yelling at her like that."

"Thank you Clark." I whispered, giving him a small hug, letting him know how much I appreciated everything he did for me. "I knew there was a reason I liked you," I smiled, earning one from him in return. "Now, if we can all act like human adults, instead of animals, then that would be good. There is a reason why we're all here," I began. Thankfully, that seemed to work and I gained everybody's attention. "We have to bring Ren back with us. I'd prefer not to use force, but if it comes down to it, then you can if you must. But please, be careful of Ren's uncle. Try not to hurt him. he's a very sweet man, though I don't know how he'll react to having his nephew being taken away."

Neville nodded in agreement. "He is a nice old man. I like him. He tried breaking us out, but Ren wouldn't let him. More people should be like him. The world would be a much better place."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

It was good to know that we were all in agreement. It makes things so much easier. Now, the hard part was trying to convince Ren that he should come with us; even though I'd already tried that tactic to no avail. We'd figure something out, we had to. "Is everybody okay and on the same page, then?" Everyone nodded. "Good," I breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door, peaking out of the room. Good, Ren wasn't there. He wouldn't notice me breaking everyone out.

"Everyone go out in the kitchen, I'm going to check on something." I directed. One by one, they all filed out of the room in an orderly fashion, in the opposite direction as me.

I waited until they were all out of sight, when I went back into Ren's room and peeked in. Good, he was still in the exact same spot on the bed as when I left. "Ren," I whispered. "have you thought about it anymore?"

Ren nodded. "Yes, and my answer is still one hundred percent, no!" Ren didn't even open his eyes to look at me. How very rude of him. The least he could do was show some effort. I was at least trying to be nice. He reached his arms to his nightstand and picked up his earphones that were attached to his IPod, and picked it up, pulling the headphones over his ears.

Good thing he was my brother. This automatically gave me the right to slap him, maybe knock some sense into that this head of his. That, is exactly what I did. I bent over—so that it kind of looked like I was about to tell him a secret—and struck him hard on the cheek. My hand stung from the force of impact.

Ren's eyes snapped open and anger flashed in them. "What the hell was that for?" He asked, rubbing his cheek with his hand.

"That was to teach you a lesson. We need you, Renier Laroche, whether you like to believe that or not. I'm your sister, for the one thousandth time! For goodness sake, grow up and rid yourself of your selfishness. What are you doing here anyway? You're on the run, aren't you? There is nothing here for you. We can offer you so much more. Please, Ren," I added, hoping that would help make his decision.

I know that I was being bold by telling him what I knew about him. And by the look on hi face, he was obviously shocked that I knew that much. "how did you know that?" He asked.

Crap, how was I going to explain this all to him? I couldn't very well just tell him I had been keeping tabs on him. He'd think that I was crazy, if he didn't already. "I have my sources. What's your answer?" I changed the subject.

"Why? Why is this so important to you?"

"I just told you why. And because," I added. "I want to get to know you, as my brother."

I could tell that he wanted to argue with me, but miraculously, he didn't. He simply nodded his head, in one swift, brief motion. I almost didn't see it at first. "Fine, since I have no reason to stay here anymore."

A huge smile played across my face. I guess that you could say that I was the happiest girl in the world at the moment. Well, one thing would make me happier—that Connor would propose to me, but we all know that will never happen. At least, not any time soon. "Thank you, Ren. I promise that you won't regret this."

"Then why do I have the feeling that I'm regretting this already?" He asked, with a frown, and reluctantly, got up off his bed and immediately started throwing a bunch of things together in a large duffel bag. If only it was this easy the first time I tried bringing him back. If that were the case, Shay's group might not have lost Sabine.

"You'll love it there, I promise." I smiled, picking up his bag and walked out of the room; still a little unsure of how he was going to react to the other's being in the kitchen. Hopefully, he wouldn't care.

We made our way into the kitchen, where everyone was waiting for us. I casually glanced at Ren, making sure he was okay. His eyes went wide with shock, as he noticed the others there. "What are they doing out here?"

"It's okay, Ren," I whispered, placing an assuring hand on his shoulder; which he immediately shrugged off. "I let them out."

"How did you find them?"

I felt a smile escape my lips. I had been smiling a lot, lately. I suddenly realized—which was a good thing. "Oh, it was easy. I just checked all the rooms and they happened to be in the one that was locked." Okay, so maybe I didn't check every room. I just guessed that room was the only one locked; hoping that I was right. Anyway, Ren didn't need to know everything.

"That still doesn't explain how you broke into the room."

"I'm skilled at breaking and entering."

"Figures that I would have a sister who was practiced in that," he said with a shake of his head.

At least he was now calling me his sister and admitting to everyone that he had one. This made me very, very happy and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"What happened back there?" Shay asked, looking back and forth between me and Ren.

"I gained a brother," I said firmly, as I threw my arms around Ren, who immediately tried ducking out of the way—except I wouldn't let him. he was going to have to get used to hugs.

Easy there," I could hear a chuckle in his voice, though I knew he was trying to hide it. "Better watch out or I'll change my mind. I don't do hugs."

"Well, dear brother. You are going to have to live with it, because I am a very huggy person. It runs in the family." Well, most of the family. In time, Ren would come to love hugs. You just wait and see.

**Sorry this chapter is so short. Thought it was longer than that, but oh well. Will try to get another one up soon. Only a couple more chapters left, then it's the end. I can't tell you enough how much I enjoy writing this and am greatly stoked that everyone is reading it. Please review and let me know what you think. You guys rock!**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

I have no idea what was going on between Ren and Adne, but it was clear that she, not only managed to find the others and break them free, but also, somehow talked Ren into coming back with us. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that it worked—and without coming down to a fight, I might add—I just wished that I could have seen how it all played out. If I had known that this is what Adne was going to do in the long run, I would have gone with her. But she didn't need my help and managed just fine. I wondered how many tricks she actually had up those little sleeves of hers.

Well, it looked like we were done here. It took a lot quicker than I had expected it to. I was actually happy about that, because it meant that I not only got to go home early, but also got to go see Calla too. Though I had to admit, I was a little nervous with Ren coming back with us. I didn't know if he was going to try and steal Calla away from me again. Hopefully, he will have matured enough to know that Calla was off limits and that she was mine.

One look at Ren and I could tell that he was glaring daggers at me. I could tell that he was not very happy that I was there. I had a feeling that things were going to get very ugly very fast. Best we get out of here quickly as possible.

Adne had noticed that both of us were staring at each other, and immediately, she started trying to break the ice. I felt bad that she had to be caught in the middle of everything. Though it looked like she didn't mind at all. She just was glad that Ren was calling her Sister. I saw the look on her face, when he called her that. She was fairly bursting with joy. "Okay, everyone. I do believe that we have intruded on dear Uncle Charles long enough. He's probably begging for us to go."

"Now, now my dear girl, that is not so. I do enjoy your company greatly. I haven't had this many guests in quite some time. I wish you didn't have to leave so soon."

There was something about the old man that I couldn't place a finger on. He was the sweetest man you could possibly imagine, but there was something else. He seemed to be very wise, not just because of his age. It was just like he knew things and the way he acted around everyone feel was just unreal.

I hated to see the man go, but we really must be on our way. We were done here. Clearly, Adne felt the same way. I could see the compassion on her face. "Shay, could I speak to you for a moment, privately," she added.

Hesitantly, I walked over to Adne, who pulled me off to a corner and spoke quietly. "Shay, we can't just leave him here all alone."

Yes, I felt the same way, but he was none of our business. Ren was the one we came for. "Adne," I spoke softly, as to not hurt her feelings. "You know very well that we cannot do that."

"Why? There is no rule against it. I'll take full responsibility of him."

Wow, this man must really mean a great deal to her, if she was willing to take full responsibility. Though, I don't know why she was asking for my permission in the first place. After all, I was not the one in charge of the academy. But it was nice to hear just the same. And as I said earlier, we couldn't very well leave him all alone. "You're right. Go tell him, but we need to hurry back."

"Thank you, Shay," she squealed, as she wrapped her arms around my neck, nearly choking me.

I shrugged out of Adne's embrace and was feeling slightly embarrassed about it. I could feel my cheeks flush a deep scarlet color. "Okay, let's go home everybody." Then I turned my attention to Ren. "As for you, I'd like a quick word before we go, if you don't mind."

Ren winced lightly, but nodded. Adne pulled gently on my hand. "Behave," she whispered.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of causing a fight. I just want to talk to him for a moment."

Adne glanced at me, eyeing me up and down, shrugged and then walked away without saying anything else. Hesitantly, Ren walked towards me. I could tell that he was nervous and the he would rather be anywhere but here, at the moment; but surprisingly, he didn't say anything. He followed me obediently, at the door. "What do you want?" He snapped.

Woah dude, take a chill pill! I raised my hands in a kind of surrender position, letting him know that I didn't want to hurt him—yet. "Calm down. I only want to talk to you, in regards of Calla."

At the sound of the word, Calla, his eyes quirked up and he tilted his head, reminding me vaguely of a dog that heard something he liked. "What about Calla? She's okay, isn't she?"

You could tell that Ren still cared a great deal for her. You could see it in his eyes. This wasn't going to be easy for him to hear. I just hoped that he wouldn't try and kill me when I told him the news. "Relax," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. Thankfully, he listened to me and relaxed. "She's fine, I promise you that. I just wanted to make sure that you and I are on the same page when it comes to Calla." I could see the questions starting to form in his eyes.

"Go on," he nodded, folding his arms against his chest.

"As you know, Calla and I are together. While I'm allowing you to come back with us, I expect you to abide by my whishes; which include staying away from Calla. You can't even talk to her."

"Hold the phone," Ren interrupted, putting his hands up to stop me. "Letting me come back with you? I'm coming back of my own free will."

"Ha!" I chuckled. "Don't make me laugh. If Adne hadn't talked you into coming back with us, you'd still be lying on your bed in your room. Admit it."

"That, is so not true," he said angrily. This conversation was getting out of hand quickly. I needed to get back on track and fast.

"Ren, relax. I do not want to fight with you."

"Don't you, though?" He asked. "You've been wanting to fight with me for as long as I can remember. You can't stand the sight of me. I can see it in your eyes. There's not trying to deny it."

"This is not why I am here," I argued, hoping that he'd stop acting like a child and more like an adult. Well, it didn't look like that was bound to happen. I was going to have to be the adult here; which I did not mind. I was more of an adult then Ren would ever be. Okay, so maybe I was being a bit melodramatic, but whatever it's the truth. "Like I said earlier," I continued. "Calla is off limits. If you have a problem with it, then you can deal. Do I make myself clear?"

"Who died and made you boss?" Ren whined. "You really are a dick, you know. So who chose that name? Was it you, or dear sister Adne?"

My temper was reaching a boiling point, and I was fighting with all the strength that I possessed, to remain calm. It wasn't a very easy thing to do when Ren was taunting you. "Ah, that hit a nerve, didn't it, alpha lord? I can see you struggling to keep control."

Alpha lord? That made no sense, considering the fact that Ren was an alpha too. This was not good. I was about to snap. We or well I—I could care less what Ren did right now—needed to get out of here. "When are you going to grow up?" I asked. Trying not to let that comment phase me.

Ren threw a smile at me. "When you admit to me that you are a dick. Admit it, and I'll never bother you again."

Haha! Why did I have a hard time believing that? Renier Laroche was incapable of being nice. As long as I have known him, I have never once seen him be nice, at least to me anyway. "You are incapable of being nice." I told him and walked away, wanting nothing more than to get back to Calla.

"Where do you think you are going?" Ren shouted at me. "I'm not finished with you." What was he talking about, not finished with me? I was the one who initiated the conversation in the first place. And yes, I was finished with him. If he didn't like that, well, that's his problem, not mine.

"Let me go, Ren." I growled, after he grabbed hold of my arm and spun me around so that I was facing him.

"I said, I wasn't finished with you," he hissed.

My head turned to glance at the others, who were all standing out the door; including dear Uncle Charles. They all had curious expressions on their faces, all but Adnes, who's was filled with fear and concern and shocked that we were fighting. Okay, I wasn't fighting. It was all precious Ren. "Just drop it Ren, please. We're going to have to live with each other, we might as well start getting along. It will be better in the long run. Do you really want to spend the rest of our lives hating each other?"

Ren paused for a second, as if to consider what I had said, but then shook his head. Before I knew what he was doing, Ren's hand had clobbered my face, and blood was now spurting out of my nose in pints.

"What the hell was that for?" I growled, clutching my face in agony. I was almost this close to punching him, and would have, had Adne not come between us.

"Enough!" She growled, eyes both in a fury. "You are grown men, why don't you start acting like men for once." She took the words I had thought earlier, right out of my mouth. She said what I could not. "Stop fighting and learn to get along. Start being the gentlemen that I know you are."

"No, it's impossible with him around," Ren complained, pointing his finger at me.

"Me? I'm the one who's trying to be the adult here! I was walking away from you, but no, you had to stop me and cause a scene. Very alpha of you to do, Ren."

"Just stop it! Adne, I'm sorry, but I can't stand the sight of this mutt."

Mutt? That was going a little overboard, even for Ren. That was the lowest of lows. You did not want to be called a mutt. "Renier, please," Adne begged, holding onto him so that he couldn't get away.

"You dare call me a mutt? I'm head alpha, haven't you heard? I'm ordering you to stand down, now!" 


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The look Ren gave me, clarified that he had no clue that I was head alpha. Of course, how could he? He wasn't around when it happened, when Calla chose me over him. "Head alpha? I don't believe it."

"Believe it," I smirked. "I guess you do have to follow my orders, huh?"

"Shay, come on," Adne said. "Don't be like this. You're just going to egg him on. I need you both to get along. Can you do that, for me?" Why should I do anything for Adne? She wasn't anything to me. She may be Ren's, but she was not my girlfriend. No matter if she thought she was.

"Why?" Ren asked, even before I had the chance to say anything. "Why should I get along with Shay? What is he to you? Or me, for that matter? Except girlfriend stealer. Do you know, Adne, that I was dating Calla first. Actually, I was engaged to be married to her, when this dick, comes marching in from nowhere and steals my Calla right from beneath my fingertips? He didn't give Calla a choice. It was him or nothing."

That was so not true, and Ren knew it! He was twisting the story around. It did not happen like that. "You know very well that's not how it went." I tried explaining. "The relationship works both ways, or have you forgotten? Calla chose me. I did not steal from you. I honestly did not know that she was seeing you."

I could see immense hate in Ren's eyes and I knew that he was having a hard time believing any word that I said. "I'm having a hard time believing that you didn't know that Calla and I were together."

One thing I was not, was a liar. I absolutely hated it when people accused me of such ridiculous things. "I would never like about that. She never once mentioned you. She went on, acting like she was single. I assure you, I didn't know about you until the union." Or almost union.

"Ren, listen to me. Look at me!" Adne ordered. Who was she to be ordering an alpha around? Though, I guess being siblings had its advantages. "Please, just let this go. I believe Shay and wish that you would too."

"I don't believe him," he hissed at Adne, who flinched at the sound of his voice. "But I will walk away." Ren turned and walked away from us, as he said that.

"Ren, wait! You don't know where you're going. You don't have to talk to Shay anymore, but you do have to wait just a few moments for everyone." He continued walking, but stopped when he was a few feet from us.

"Fine, I'll wait. But hurry please. I would like to get out of here." He didn't even look at Adne when he spoke; which I thought was a very rude thing to do. I believed that when talking to a lady, you should always look at her—no matter who she was or if you didn't like her. That's just how it was supposed to be. Anyone who refused to do that, was a coward, in my opinion.

Adne turned to face the others, taking charge again; which I thought was a very brave thing to do—considering the people she was with. "Right, then. Is everybody ready to go?" Everyone except Uncle Charles nodded in agreement. "Uncle Charles, what's wrong?" Adne asked.

Charles turned to face his house. For a moment—just a moment mind you—I felt the tiniest bit sorry for him. I wondered how it would feel to leave you home for the first time, because by the looks of it, he hadn't lived anywhere but here. "I just need a moment," he whispered, on the verge of tears.

Forgetting about everything that had been going on, I marched up to Uncle Charles and wrapped my arm around his shoulders. I knew how it felt to leave a place for the first time. It was hard. How could it not be? I mean, you grow up living in that house. All your memories are in this one house. It was hard to let go, but it had to be done sometime. You have to suck it up and move on. "Uncle Charles," I started. "I know how you're feeling."

"Do you, my boy?" he asked. "You know everything that I'm feeling?"

Of course not everything. I did not say everything. "Not everything sir, no. Though I lived in the same house, up until a few months ago, until I came here—or well the academy. It's hard, but you have to let it go. You can't dwell on it forever. You have to move on. You'll make new memories at the academy. Everything will be okay." I was telling myself this more so than to Charles. Because, up until now, I was still having a hard time being here. It didn't matter so much now. As long as I was with Calla, that was where my home was. Calla, how I missed her so. It seemed like forever since I'd seen her. It practically was, considering the fact that we'd spent most of our time here fighting. I was going to change that.

Charles turned to face me. There were tears streaming down his face, but amidst all that, he was smiling. For the first time, I noticed that he was missing a couple of teeth, and immediately, I began to wonder if Ren had done that. He probably had. My hatred for him grew even more, if that was even possible. "Thank you my dear boy. You have no idea how much this has helped me. I am ready to go now."

Adne reached her hand out and Uncle Charles gladly took it. After that, we were on our way back to the academy, but first, there was something that I had needed to do. I had to get Sabine's body and bring it back with us. I'd promised Bryn, after all. And I did not break my promise—unless absolutely necessary.

We had walked a little ways, but soon reached the spot to where Sabine's body was supposed to be. Only, it wasn't. The body was gone. I rushed up to the spot where it had been before, and fell to the ground. The blood was still there, so it wasn't a dream. Someone had to have stolen the body. A weird sound came from deep within me.

Neville and Mason came up behind me, both placing a hand on my shoulder. "Shay, what is it?" Neville asked.

I shook my head, unable to say anything. I could not believe what I was seeing. Though deep down in my mind, I wondered if she really was dead at all. But like I said, that was deep deep down. "Sabine," I groaned finally. "Her body should be here."

"What do you mean should be?" Mason whispered.

My head whipped around to face him. I was just surprised that he said anything at all. He was the quiet type who hardly ever said anything, but when he did, it was priceless. Neville looked just as shocked as I, that Mason actually said something.

"Mase, you talked," he laughed, patting Mason on the back.

"Of course I talked. I do know how to talk you know."

"Oh I know, it just happens so rarely," Neville smirked approvingly.

Mason scowled at Neville, but quickly shrugged it off, like it was nothing. See, that's how everyone was supposed to act. It would be a much better world if everyone acted like Mason. "But seriously, what do you mean, should be here?" He repeated.

That's right! I had forgotten to tell them what happened. But after everything that has been going on, Can you really blame me? "Neville, Mase, I'm sorry. I failed to tell you this earlier." I couldn't, I just couldn't go on. I let out a heart-wrenching sob.

"It's okay, Shay. I told them already." Adne cut in, standing next to me.

"Oh, it's just a little love fest with poor Shay, isn't it?" Ren grimaced.

"Renier Laroceh," Adne exclaimed. "You take that back this very minute! They lost a member of their pack, show some respect."

"You want me to show respect, he has to earn it," he hissed. "Just because they lost a member of their pack, does not mean I have to feel sorry for him. I'm sure that he would act the same way, if the situation were in reverse. Am I right?"

Oh the sick bastard! I really could not believe that Ren was being like this. And of course, I would not be acting like that! I was not that immature, unlike certain people, I knew how to treat someone and how to act. "Oh for the love of God," I started. "do you really think that I would act like that? Unlike you, I have manners and know how to use them."

"Boys, boys, boys! Is this any way to behave with a lady around?" Adne asked, clearly annoyed at the both of us.

"Lady," Ren scoffed. "I don't see a lady. Just my sister."

Oh, Ren. That was a very not be stupid thing to do. Now you've done it. You've brought the wrath of Adne down upon us. This could not be good. Adne definitely did not like being told that she wasn't a lady, no matter who she was talking to. "How dare you," she exclaimed, with a slap across Ren's face, clearly surprising him I don't think any of us expected Adne to strike anybody. Ren was clearly shocked. He stared blankly at her and rubbed at his cheek. "I am a lady! I may be your sister, but I am still a lady! I expected to be treated with respect. And I didn't bring you along just so you can bicker with Shay. If you wanna bicker, you can stay here."

That seemed to put Shay in his place. "I'm sorry, Adne, of course you're a lady. Forgive me." What I wanted to know, was whether or not the apology was real. Was he really sorry, or was he just playing a part? I still hadn't figured him out yet.

"Are you all done?" I asked, we should get going before it gets dark, because I had no clue as to what could be lurking in the shadows. It was better to be safe than sorry. I couldn't risk losing another member of my pack. Though I didn't care about Ren. Okay, Shay, knock it off! That's not very nice and you know it. How can you expect him to be nice, if in return, you can't either?


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Things started looking better after that. Ren straightened up his act, for which I was grateful. I only hoped that he wasn't just putting on a show, for his sake. He was a new-comer to the academy and could use the friends. He didn't want to go around being lonely, making enemies.

We made it back to the portal, and to my relief, Bryn was still there, safe and sound. In fact, she looked bored as can be. She was sitting on the ground, Indian style. Resting her head on a tree. Thank God everything was okay.

"About time," she grinned, quickly standing up, as she walked towards us. "I was beginning to worry. Neville Mason, good to see you guys are okay." She glanced at the others—from Adne's group—and acknowledged them as well. "Good to see you again, Ren."

Ren frowned, but nodded in return, surprising me yet further. Maybe Ren was capable of being nice, after all.

Bryn looked around for a minute, and then her face fell. "Where's Sabine, Shay? You promised me that you were going to bring her back."

Great, I had forgotten about that. How was I going to explain to her that when we got back, her body was gone? I guess my only option was to tell her the truth, outright. Like I said earlier, I couldn't lie anymore. It just didn't seem like an alpha thing to do. "Bryn, this is going to be hard," Neville walked up to her and grasped hold of her hand. "I was going to bring her body back, I really was. But by the time that we got back to Sabine, she was gone."

Confusion swept over Bryn's face. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Gone, vanished, and disappeared like a magic act. She was nowhere in sight."

"No," she cried. "that can't be true. We have to go back for her. "Bryn stepped forward, as if she was going to go after Sabine by herself, which was very brave of her to do.

"Bryn, I'm sorry. There's nothing that we can do. We can still hold a funeral for her, if you want?"

She shook her head. "No, we can't. What good is a funeral without a body?"

Oh, how I wished that there was something that I could do to comfort Bryn. I wished very much that I could search for Sabine, but what good would it do? Searching is useless, because we'd never find her. Bryn was going to have to face the fact that Sabine really was gone. Unwillingly, I grabbed Bryn's hand and pulled her back through the portal, landing right where we started from. I wanted Bryn to stay, so that we could talk about what happened, but she ran off sobbing towards the direction of the dungeons. There was nothing I could do. Poor Bryn.

XXX

I had been anxiously waiting for the others to come back. I don't have to tell you how worried I was. Pretty sure that you can imagine. I had just dozed off—figuring that a quick cat nap wouldn't hurt anything—when I heard footsteps echoing through the hallway and into the dungeon. And, was that, sobbing?

Oh no, no no! Please, don't tell me that someone was dead. Oh God, Shay! He couldn't be dead. He was my whole life. Yes, even after everything that he's done—no matter how stupid it is—I still love him. "Bryn," I called out. "Is that you?"

Bryn didn't respond, to my dismay. All that came from her was the heart-wrenching sobbing; which as you can imagine, didn't comfort me very much. I could only imagine the worst. I mean, what do you expect, when she comes down here, crying her eyes out? "What's wrong, Bryn? Tell me, please. You're starting to scare me. Something happened out there, didn't it? Someone died, like Shay. You wouldn't be sobbing like that if it wasn't Shay."

I knew very well that I was probably jumping into all sorts of conclusions, but I couldn't help myself. I had to know if my Shay was dead. I promised myself that when I got out of here, I was going to start acting better towards Shay, and try not to cause any fights. And if it came down to a fight, I was going to let him win every single one of them. That, in my opinion, was a true girlfriend. Not many people did that, which I knew of.

"Bryn, honey. Please tell us what's wrong." Ansel begged.

She sniffed and walked towards Ansel, holding onto the bars of the cell. "Ansel, it's just awful! Sabine, she's dead."

What? At least it wasn't Shay who was dead, that was the important thing. Yeah, I know I was being pretty selfish, but I couldn't help my feelings. Though, the thing that drove me crazy right then, was that Bryn ignored me completely. It wasn't like I was going to be mad at her for telling me. Not like it was her fault Sabine died. "Why couldn't you tell me that?" I complained.

Hesitantly, Bryn turned towards me. "I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I was just really upset and needed Ansel, at the time being. I wasn't ignoring you."

Then why did it feel like she was? "Sure felt like it." I muttered. "I thought we were friends, Bryn? Best friends, for that matter. Best friends tell each other everything, no matter how the other person is feeling. Am I right? Tell me that I'm wrong and I'll apologize immediately."

"Calla," Ansel scolded me. "Lay off my girlfriend. She hasn't done anything wrong. It's okay for her to want to go to her boyfriend, first."

"Thank you, An," she smiled. Well, at least he could do to her what I couldn't—make her happy. At least, Ansel was good for something.

I knew I shouldn't feel this way—especially towards my own brother—but at that very moment, I resented him, hated him, even. Bryn was my best friend. I was the one in whom she was supposed to confide in. The one in which she could tell her darkest secrets, the one who could make her laugh. But no, Ansel had to get in the way and take it all away from me. For a moment, just a brief moment mind you—it only flashed in my mind as fast as lightning and then it was gone—I actually wanted my brother dead. I had no idea where these feelings came from, and it began to scare me a little. I had never felt that way towards my brother as long as I can remember. "I can't believe that you would abandon me." I told her, sullenly.

A small gasp escaped from Bryn's mouth. Clearly, she was shocked that I would suggest such a thing. "Calla, you know that's not true. Take it back right now!"

"Who are you to order me around? I, unlike you, am an alpha!" So maybe that was just a wee bit uncalled for. I really don't know what's gotten into me. I was hoping that it was just because I was locked up, and that things would be better when I was free.

"What's gotten into you, Cal?" Ansel asked.

I crossed my eyes, bitterly at him. "You're what's gotten into me, An! You've stolen my best friend from me. It seems that, from the moment you started dating, Bryn has been attached to your hip like super glue. I feel that she has completely ignored me and only talks to me when she sees fit. Even then, it feels forced. I…I miss you, Bryn."

"When are you going to learn that I am not going anywhere? I'm here and I've always been here. Even if I do marry Ansel one day, I'll be here. I'll always be your best friend. And really, it takes two to change that."

She had a good point, I guess. I wasn't one to initiate conversations very easily. I always felt better when someone else started them. I know that I needed to change that. I couldn't very well go on living the rest of my life like that. That's not a very good alpha. "I'm sorry, Bryn. I don't know what came over me. I know you'll always be here." I reached my hand through the cold bars, hoping that she would grasp hold of it. Thankfully, she did. She clasped my hand, holding tightly. I could see the tears threatening to spill over.

The embrace—well half an embrace—didn't last very long. We were interrupted by the door, to the dungeon, bursting open. To my delight, and utmost surprise, it was Shay. My sweet, sweet Shay. You can't imagine how happy I was to see him right then—alive. "Shay!" I squeaked excitedly.

"Calla, baby," he cooed, rushing towards me, practically knocking Bryn over in the process.

I was going to scold him for that, but I was just too plain excited to see him. "I'm so happy to see you." I kissed him through the bars. "I'm happy that you're alive and unhurt. I was so worried about you guys."

"Of course I'm alive. Did you really expect me to leave you here alone?"

A smile played across my face. "Of course not!"

"I thought that you would be mad at me for everything that I've done to you?"

I continued smiling, I couldn't seem to stop. "Of course not! I love you too much to be mad at you. I know that you must have had a really good reason for locking me up in here." My heart-rate kept speeding up every time I glanced into his eyes. It was almost like I was falling in love with him all over again.

Shay nodded that gorgeous head of his, mesmerizing me even more. "I'm getting you out of there right this moment," he said, reaching his hand into his pants pocket, and pulled out a set of brass keys. He shuffled through them briefly, coming across one individual key, and stuck it into the lock.

Click, went the lock. I was free! My first reaction was to fully embrace Shay. I know that I had only been locked up for a short period of time, but to me, it felt like a lifetime. "Um…guys, I hate to interrupt," Bryn hesitated.

"Then don't." I replied. I was too wrapped up in Shay to think of some whitty remark.

To my dismay, shay was the first one to break from our embrace; which really, really pissed me off. "No, Bryn's right, my sweet Calla," he ran his long, soft fingers through my thick hair—slightly massaging it in the process. It felt so good. I hadn't realized how much I had missed his touch, until then. "We can get back to this later," he murmured.

Unwillingly, I pulled back from him. "Do you promise?"

The most wonderful smile that I had ever seen, spread across Shay's face—making his eyes shine like gold. I had never seen anything like that before, or maybe I had just failed to notice it. "I promise," he whispered with a wink.

"Good," I started. "can you break Ansel free, too? Please, Shay. He's my brother."

Shay paused for half a second, then slowly nodded his head. "Alright," he mumbled. "I'll answer to Lydia if she says anything."

"No, I'll take the blame." I offered. I couldn't let Shay suffer for something like this. It hardly seemed fair.

"If you're sure," he replied.

"Positive."

"Okay, but just to inform you Cal," he looked hesitantly at me, but continued. "Ren is here."

At the sound of Ren's name, my heart seemed to stop beating. I couldn't breathe and I couldn't see anything. Then next thing I knew, I was falling, falling into shadow and darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED….

**Sorry this chapter is so late, I've been busy. I'm hoping I'll slow down soon. You all have been an amazing audience! Thanks for reading my story. Reviews are always nice. So this fanfiction is finished after this chapter, but I am currently working on a sequel to it. Look for my new fanfic titled Bloodwars. Hope you all have enjoyed this.**


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